Robredo welcomes result

MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — Former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. emerging as top choice for President in the 2022 elections in a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey is not a cause for concern at this point, some of the other presidential aspirants said Monday.

Marcos got 47 percent among respondents polled by SWS last October 20-23, followed by Vice President Leni Robredo, with 18 percent.

Landing on third spot is Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, with 13 percent. Sen. Manny Pacquiao placed 4th with 9 percent, while Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa tied at the 5th spot with 5 percent each.

Leody De Guzman, another presidential contender, was not included in the survey.

Three percent of respondents said they were still “undecided” on who to vote for president in next year’s elections.

A copy of the survey results, which also include those for the vice presidency and senatorial race, was obtained by ABS-CBN News, and was confirmed by Dindo Manhit, President of Stratbase ADR Institute which commissioned the polls. The research organization later Monday released the results on its social media page.

Atty. Vic Rodriguez, chief of staff of Marcos, said in a statement that the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas standard bearer is "humbled" by the results, and will remain focused on taking the country out of the pandemic.

Marcos' candidacy is being questioned at the Commission on Elections over his tax evasion conviction in 1995.

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ROBREDO WELCOMES RESULT

Robredo called her survey standing "very good news", saying her team is not expecting her to place second until January or February next year.

She also said Marcos' lead was "understandable."

"More than 6 years na naghahanda iyong kalaban natin. Tayo, nag-decide tayo ng 11th hour," Robredo, who beat Marcos in the 2016 vice presidential race, said in a chance interview in Nueva Ecija.

"Pero the mere fact na mayroon lang tayong one month since the decision na gumalaw, tapos ganito na iyong tinaas, nagpapakita na kailangang maging very hopeful kasi hindi nga inaasahan iyong pagtaas."

(Our rival prepared for more than 6 years. We decided at the 11th hour. But the mere fact that we just had a month since we decided and the rise was like this shows that we need to be very hopeful.)

Robredo ranked sixth in a similar survey conducted by Pulse Asia in September, getting only the support of 8 percent of respondents. Marcos was in second place, with 15 percent.

That survey was topped by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who was picked by 20 percent of respondents. Domagoso was in 3rd place, Pacquiao was fourth, and Lacson was 7th.

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Robredo said it is still "too early" to be certain of the presidential race's frontrunner.

"Alam natin na between now and the official campaign period, iyong galawan ng ranking ay very fluid pa," Robredo said.

(We know that between now and the official campaign period, the movement of the ranking is still very fluid.)

The Comelec is expected to release the final list of official candidates for the May 9, 2022 polls in the coming weeks, with the official campaign period for national position aspirants set to start on Feb. 8, 2022.

LACSON: ‘NOT DISTRACTED’

Lacson, Partido Reporma’s standard bearer, said he is “not distracted” by his recent survey performance.

“I’m not affected at all. I am being honest,” he told ANC’s Headstart.

“I pay more attention on the efforts of our people on the ground. I pay more attention on studying the solutions to the humongous problems we have right now,” he said.

Lacson, who is running with Senate President Vicente Sotto III as his vice presidential bet, said their team is focusing on getting support from the grassroots.

“Grassroots mas importante (The grassroots are more important)… At the end of the day, it will be issues that will matter,” he said.

In an earlier interview, Lacson admitted that his serious tone and no-nonsense style may be affecting his appeal to voters.

“Baka magkaroon kami ng ilang adjustments sa aming communication strategy… Laging issue-based kami… Yung iba may patawa, may halong TikTok,” he said in a press conference earlier this month.

Lacson’s team has released a Youtube video showcasing the lawmaker as a father and as a boss in a bid to show another side of the former Philippine National Police chief who is known for his brand of discipline.

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Despite this strategy, Lacson asserted that voters should be further educated so that they would not choose leaders based on entertainment value displayed on social media.

Marcos has some of the most viewed politics-related content on social media, particularly on TikTok.

Clips about Marcos on the video-sharing app are usually about his day-to-day life, and conspiracy theories about the achievements and demise of his father, former President Ferdinand Marcos.

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ISKO CAMP: CAMPAIGN SEASON IS ’STILL LONG’

The campaign team of Domagoso, Aksyon Demokratiko’s standard bearer, is also “unbothered” by the latest survey results.

“‘Yung mga boto ni Sara, nag-migrate lang kay BBM,” said Lito Banayo, the Manila Mayor’s campaign manager.

He was referring to Duterte-Carpio, who filed her candidacy for vice president only over the weekend, and Marcos, whose camp promptly announced it was adopting the former as their vice presidential bet.

(Sara’s votes migrated to BBM.)

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“If you look at the numbers, very soft 'yung support… Ang tao ngayon, namimili pa (The public is still in the process of choosing),” said Banayo, who also spearheaded the successful presidential bids of President Rodrigo Duterte and the late President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

At this point, it is better for Domagoso to trail behind in the surveys, the veteran campaigner said.

“Kapag ikaw ang top, magiging target ka… That’s the standard,” he said.

Instead of minding pre-campaign surveys, the Manila Mayor will focus on his “listening tour,” Banayo said.

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Meanwhile, Partido Lakas ng Masa presidential aspirant Leody De Guzman said it is expected that he is not included in the commissioned survey, but added that the recognition of his bid by the Filipino people is far more important.

"Iyan ay commissioned survey ng mga kandidato. Inaasahan na namin sa mga katunggali na hindi bibigyan ng pagkilala ang aking kandidatura dahil wala silang balak itaas ang diskurso sa eleksyon," he told reporters.

(That is a commissioned survey by candidates. We expect my rivals not to give recognition to my candidacy because they have no intention of raising the discourse in the election.)

"Mas mahalaga ang pagkilala sa aking kandidatura ng masa’t manggagawa kaysa sa nagkomisyon sa survey na iyan."

(It is more important for the masses and workers to recognize my candidacy than by those who commissioned that survey.)

VICE PRESIDENTIAL RACE

For the vice presidency, Sotto topped the survey, with 44 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him.

Duterte-Carpio is in second place with 25 percent, followed by Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and cardiologist Willie Ong with 13 percent each.

Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza ranked fifth with 3 percent.

Partido Lakas ng Masa vice presidential aspirant Walden Bello was also not included in the survey.

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Two percent of respondents said they have yet to decide who to vote for vice president.

SENATORIAL RACE

If the national elections were held last month, radio host Raffy Tulfo would top the senatorial race, dominating over re-electionists, former senators and members of political clans. Sixty percent of respondents said they would vote for him.

Sorsogon Gov. Francis “Chiz” Escudero earned the second spot with 51 percent, while Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano placed third with 50 percent.

The 4th to 12th spots were occupied by the following:

4 - Antique Rep. Loren Legarda (45 percent)
5 - Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri (44 percent)
6 - Former Vice President Jejomar Binay (40 percent)
6 - Public Works Secretary Mark Villar (40 percent)
8 - Sen. Risa Hontiveros (36 percent)
9 - Former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada (33 percent)
10 - Actor Robin Padilla (29 percent)
11 - Broadcaster Noli De Castro (28 percent)
12 - Sen. Joel Villanueva (27 percent)

Former Sen. JV Estrada and Sen. Richard Gordon share the 13-14th rank, with 26 percent each, followed by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, with 25 percent.

De Castro has withdrawn his certificate of candidacy citing personal reason for his inability to proceed with his senatorial bid under Aksyon Demokratiko’s ticket.

Other presidential aspirants have yet to issue statements regarding their survey rankings in the recent SWS poll.

STRATBASE ADR INSTITUTE

"We are a research policy institute. So we believe that as we enter the 2022 election, it's best to understand who are the main players. And after the filing of candidacy last October 8, we partnered with SWS…based on official candidates filed, to check who are, what are the preferences of the Filipino people at this moment before the November 15 deadline," Manhit said of their group's commissioned survey.

"We wanted to contribute to the political discourse or the preferences of the Filipino people or the Filipino voters.”

Starbase ADR’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees is former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario who is also a convenor of 1Sambayan that endorsed Robredo. The Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees is businessman Manny Pangilinan.

The rest of the board include other businessmen and academic people.

EX-DFA CHIEF WARNS AGAINST CANDIDATES 'UNDER THE THUMB OF CHINA'

Meanwhile, in a statement, Del Rosario urged voters not to support "Manchurian candidates who do not have our country's interests at heart."

"Another six years of our country run by a set of candidates under the thumb of China would be incomprehensibly catastrophic," said the Philippines' former top diplomat who initiated the country's move to seek international arbitration over Beijing's sweeping claims in the South China Sea.

"We should unite and vote for candidates with integrity, those who genuinely care for our countrymen, and those who will protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country," Del Rosario said.

— with reports from Josiah Antonio, RG Cruz and Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News

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