Poe vows to work harder even after keeping lead in Pulse poll

Senator Grace Poe. ARNOLD ALMACEN / INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

LUMBAN, Laguna—Despite maintaining her lead in the latest Pulse Asia survey, presidential bet Grace Poe recognized the need to work harder to keep pacing her rivals and ensure her victory in the May 2016 elections.

“Ako ay talagang taus-pusong nagpapasalamat dahil hindi naman madali ito at ang survey naman ay paiba-iba,” Poe said in an interview here on Friday.

(From the bottom of my heart, I am thankful because this is no easy feat; surveys are ever-changing.)

“So ngayon patuloy lang ang ating pag-iikot na sabihin talagang ang problemang kailangan labanan natin ay kahirapan. Sa tingin ko ‘yun ang ating mensahe sa ating mga kababayan para maibsan ang kahirapan, magkaroon ng sapat na suporta ang gobyerno sa mahihirap,” she said.

(Right now, we are continuing to go around the country and sending out our message on the fight against poverty. I believe that is our message to our countrymen: alleviating poverty and making sure that the government is assisting the poor.)

Poe was reacting to the latest Pulse Asia Survey commissioned by ABS-CBN, which showed her as the voters’ top choice for president with 28 percent, followed by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte with 24 percent, Vice President Jejomar Binay with 23 percent, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas with 19 percent and Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago with two percent.

READ: Poe keeps lead in latest Pulse Asia poll

The survey was conducted from March 15 to 20, 2016 among 4,000 respondents.

Poe though recognized that her numbers in the survey was not an assurance of her victory in the actual elections.

“Sabi nga nila wala naman talagang numero na masasabi nating sigurado na hangga’t sa araw mismo ng halalan,” she said.

(As they say, no survey numbers can guarantee our victory other than the numbers during Election Day.)

READ: Poe camp grateful for ‘unwavering’ support amid survey lead

Told about some observations that her lead in the survey was slim compared to what was expected after the Supreme Court allowed her to run for president, Poe said it only proved that she still has to work harder as she is facing strong opponents in the presidential race.

Asked if she now considers Duterte as her strongest rival in the race, Poe said: “May kanya-kanyang lakas ang bawat kandidato, kaya importante talaga ‘yung mensahe ng mga kandidato.”

(Each candidate has his or her own strong suit, that’s why it is important for us to get our messages across.) IDL

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