EIGHT of 10 Filipinos trust the results of the May 2022 national and local elections and almost nine of 10 people expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the automated polls, the June 24 to 27 Ulat ng Bayan survey done by Pulse Asia showed.
The survey, which involved 1,200 adult respondents with a margin of error of 2.8 percent, found that 82 percent of respondents had a “big trust” on the outcome of the national and local elections and believed that it is “accurate and credible,” while four percent distrust the results and 14 percent are ambivalent or could not say if they trust the results or not.
There was a big trust across the different geographic areas (73 percent to 96 percent) and socio-economic classes (79 percent to 82 percent), with the highest trust in Mindanao (96 percent) followed by the Visayas (85 percent), Metro Manila (84 percent) and Luzon (73 percent); and among Class D (82 percent) followed by Class E (81 percent) and Class ABC (79 percent).
Pulse Asia said 89 percent of Filipinos are also satisfied with the automated polling system or the counting of votes using the Vote Counting Machines (VCMs) while four percent are dissatisfied and 7 percent are ambivalent.
The polling firm said the same number or 89 percent also said they want the automated voting to continue while four percent said they do not want it to continue and seven percent are undecided whether they want it to continue or not.
It added that 72 percent said the main benefit from the automated polls was the faster results while 15 percent said it was the ease of voting and 11 percent said it is more credible. One percent did not give an answer.
The survey group found that 95 percent found the use of the VCMs easy while one percent said it was difficult. Three percent could not say if it is easy or difficult to use, while one percent said they had problems with the feeding of ballots.
The Pulse Asia survey was done about a month after Congress proclaimed former senator Ferdinand Marcos and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte as the country’s next president and vice-president following the May 9 elections.
The survey was also held on the heels of Duterte’s oath-taking as Vice President-elect last June 19 and the announcement that she would serve as the concurrent Department of Education
