Sotto: Firms of surveys ‘used to condition voters’ minds’ must be liable for PH woes

Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senator Panfilo Lacson answer questions from reporters after their town hall meeting in Argao, Cebu on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. Photo from Lacson-Sotto media bureau

ARGAO, Cebu — Vice presidential bet Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday criticized pre-election surveys which are being “used to condition the minds” of the voting public, saying those behind them should be held accountable if poverty persists in the country under the helm of survey frontrunners.

“Yung mga survey firm ang managot…maging accountable doon sa nagiging resulta kung ang survey ay nasusunod at ‘yun ang nananalo and then our countrymen continue to have, ika nga, ay kahirapan, nagpapatuloy pa rin ang kahirapan,” Sotto , the nation’s incumbent Senate president, told reporters in an ambush interview here.

“Kung ang masusunod ang mga survey, ang ibig sabihin nito sila rin ang managot sa mga naghihirap nating kababayan,” he added.

Sotto and his running mate, Senator and presidential candidate Panfilo Lacson, were asked about the latest Pulse Asia survey which showed Ferdinand Marcos Jr still in the lead among presidential bets while Sara Duterte-Carpio widened her points over other vice presidential candidates.

In the survey released Wednesday, Lacson’s two-percent score from the previous survey was unchanged. He continues to lag behind four of his presidential rivals. Sotto, on the other hand, lost four percentage points in the latest Pulse Asia survey – from 24 percent in February to 20 percent in the March 17-21 poll.

“If surveys are used to condition the minds of our people on who should be elected as the next leader, then polling firms should also be held answerable to the plight of majority of our people who continue to live under terrible conditions,” Sotto said in a separate message to reporters.

“There oughta be a law,” he added.

“Yung mga nanalo sa survey noong nakaraang eleksyon, may nagawa ba para umunlad ang bansa? May katiyakan ba na mababawasan ang mahirap kung sila nga ang mananalo? Ano ang kanilang naging ambag para umunlad ang buhay ng mga Pilipino?” the Senate president also said.

KGA