SORSOGON CITY - The practice of local officials promising to deliver a guaranteed number of votes for certain presidential candidates is a "great insult to voters", Aksyon Demokratiko standard bearer Isko Moreno Domagoso said Monday.

Domagoso issued the statement after being asked if the family of the late Aksyon Demokratiko founder Raul Roco had vowed to deliver a certain number of votes for him from the former senator's hometown Naga City.

"I don't ask any local leaders, any endorsers of promise of votes. It's a great insult to the voters," Domagoso told reporters on the sidelines of his sorties here.

While the Manila City mayor admitted that he wants to have a "good sum of numbers, of voters" in the May 9 elections, he underscored that no local leader should commit to convincing a certain number of supporters for any candidate.

"I think hindi natin puwedeng ipangako na, 'Ako bahala sa iyo dito, bibigyan kita ng 1 milyong boto'," said Domagoso.

(I think we should not issue such promises as, "I'll take care of you, I will assure you 1 million votes".)

"Pinangungunahan mo na ang tao. Sinasaklawan mo na 'yung kaniyang karapatang makapamili ng leader ayon sa pagkakaunawa niya," he added.

(You are getting ahead of the people. You are depriving them of their right to choose a leader based on their own appreciation.)

• With Noynoy Aquino and Charlie Cojuangco gone, Isko hopes to win over Tarlac voters

Aksyon Demokratiko's local leaders are not required to meet a certain quota of votes.

Earlier this month, some local leaders have drawn flak for saying that their area of jurisdiction would definitely deliver votes for certain candidates.

A political endorsement is just a "bonus," said Domagoso, who has so far secured the endorsement of a Rizal mayor, and some labor and volunteer groups.

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It is better to go straight to the people because a lot of voters prefer not to be vocal about their political preferences to avoid online bickering with other candidates' supporters, he said.

Domagoso's camp earlier claimed that the so-called "silent majority will gravitate towards" their candidate, noting how hundreds of thousands, according to their estimates, troop to the streets whenever he holds a sortie.

• With Noynoy Aquino and Charlie Cojuangco gone, Isko hopes to win over Tarlac voters

Domagoso ranked third in the latest voters' preference survey of Pulse Asia conducted in February, getting 10 percent of support from the 2,400 adult respondents who are registered voters in the May elections.

The poll was topped by former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., who earned 60 percent, followed by Vice President Leni Robredo, who got 15 percent.

Domagoso, however, placed first as a second-choice candidate, based on the survey.

• Bongbong, Sara lead Pulse Asia's Feb. 2022 poll for May's presidential, VP race

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