Duterte ahead by 7 in final Standard survey

Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte with his 11 bank passbooks. JOAN BONDOC

Editors’ Note: The headline has been revised to reflect the true size of the lead: 7 points, not 5. Our apologies for the initial mistake; 5 refers to the “swing” (Duterte up by 2, Poe down by 3), not the lead.

In a crowded field of presidential candidates, the pre-election survey front runner has firmed up his lead, in the final Standard Poll conducted from April 27 to May 1. Some 32 percent of 3,000 voting-age respondents said they would vote for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte if the elections were held during the survey period, up from 30 percent in the March 26-April 1 survey.

Sen. Grace Poe remained in second place, with a voter preference rating of 25 percent, down from 27. Given the survey’s sampling margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percent, former Secretary Mar Roxas may be said to be in a virtual tie with Poe; 22 percent of survey respondents said they would vote for Roxas, up from 21 percent.

Vice President Jejomar Binay’s standing in the poll continued to deteriorate, with a voter preference rating of 15 percent, down from 18 percent in the March 26-April 1 survey and from 23 percent in the Feb 24-Mar 1 poll.

Two percent of the respondents said they would vote for Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, the same number recorded in each of the three previous Standard Polls (also known as the Laylo Report). Four percent said they were still undecided. – JN