OPPOSITION presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo remains hopeful that her survey ratings will improve by the end of March, saying the latest Pulse Asia survey on presidential preferences was conducted at the start of the official campaign period and did not reflect the massive support she has been drawing in previous weeks.
“It was conducted a month ago, many things have happened since then. So it’s expected that there’s no bump yet since the campaign period had just started then. We expect a bump towards the end of March up to April, like in 2016,” Robredo told reporters while campaigning in North Cotabato where she visited the provincial capitol in Matalam.
She recalled that at the start of the 2016 national elections when she ran for vice president, her ratings were pegged at minus 1 percent to 2 percent but picked up by late March.
The UniTeam of presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and vice-presidential bet Sara Duterte-Carpio maintained their lead in the February 18 to 23 electoral survey of Pulse Asia.
Marcos remained as the top choice of voters if the elections were held today with 60 percent (unchanged from January), followed by Robredo with 15 percent (from 16 percent), Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso with 10 percent (from 8 percent), Sen. Manny Pacquiao with 8 percent (unchanged) and Sen. Panfillo Lacson with 2 percent (from 4 percent).
Robredo, a lawyer, also said that while President Duterte was correct when he said that he prefers a lawyer to be the next president, it is not an “indispensable” requirement.
“It really helps when you have knowledge of the law but everyone can make their own standards of what they are looking for in a leader,” she said.
Robredo’s camp said they expect more black propaganda to be thrown against her as her campaign starts picking up steam.
“They are feeling the heat that’s why they are going full throttle with propaganda to counter the Vice President’s advance. It’s a traditional politician’s strategy to pull down the leading rival,” said “Tropang Angat” senatorial bet Alex Lacson.
Lacson was referring to the “red-tagging” and other “dirty tricks” being employed against Robredo, saying lies are being spread by her political rivals because they cannot fault her character and track record.
He said it is public record that Robredo has long been rejecting violence as a political tool and the communist ideology, unlike Duterte who has been recorded shouting “Mabuhay ang NPA!” when he was still mayor of Davao City.
Lacson said Duterte had even allowed the rebels to march into Davao while former first lady Imelda Marcos “waltz(ed) with (the late former Chinese president and Chinese Communist Party chairman) Mao (Zedong) or make beso-beso (cheek-to-cheek) with the old Soviet leaders.”
“May resibo sila. Kay VP, wala (There’s proof against them. With VP, there’s none),” said Lacson, citing Cavite Rep. Crispin Remulla’s claim that some of the participants in Robredo’s campaign rally in his province were paid P500 each while the student-activists were trained by communists.
Former Ifufao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, who is also running for senator under the Robredo-Pangilinan banner, assured that the Robredo-Pangilinan camp has “no alliance” with the communists while remaining open to “peace talks to resolve the insurgency problem.”
The more her detractors put her down, “the more that people are seeing her,” said Baguilat, who belongs to the Tuwali tribe of Ifugao.
Former congressman Erin Tañada, “Tropang Angat” campaign manager, said that if campaign rally attendance is a referendum, “the detractors of the Vice President already saw that people have turned them down.”
LACSON QUESTIONS SURVEY
Presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson questioned the results of the latest Pulse Asia pre-election survey released last Monday, saying the survey outcome was different from what he is actually feeling each time they hold campaign rallies.
“I find it difficult to believe based on my actual experience on the ground. I cannot accept the fact that after the presidential forum and interviews, my rating even went down. I really don’t know,” Lacson said during their campaign rally in Tuguegarao City.
The Pulse Asia survey conducted February 18 to 23 showed Lacson was preferred by only two percent of the respondents nationwide — 2 percent in the National Capital Region, 3 percent in balance Luzon, 1 percent in the Visayas, and 2 percent in Mindanao.
Lacson was only preferred by 4 percent from Class “C,” 2 percent from Class “D,” and 3 percent from Class “E.”
Another Pulse Asia survey conducted January 19 to 24 showed Lacson was the choice of 4 percent of the respondents. Lacson consistently ranked 5th in both Pulse Asia surveys.
Lacson said he is not losing hope, adding the real survey will happen on May 9 even as he lamented that pre-election surveys are meant to pre-condition the minds of the voters.
“That’s the sad thing about surveys, it serves to condition the minds of the people. As for us, we will wait for the election day even if I rate poorly in surveys because I don’t believe that I am rating poor in surveys,” he said.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Lacson’s running mate, said the Pulse Asia survey is only one of the many pre-election surveys coming out. He said surveys are “merely snapshot of that day.”
“We must remember it is merely a snapshot of that particular day. It does not mean that will be the snapshot on May 9. As far as I know we will finish strong. We are confident,” Sotto said.
MORENO UNFAZED
Manila Mayor and Aksyon Demokratiko standard bearer Isko Moreno said he is unfazed by the recent Pulse Asia survey, adding he and his running mate, Willie Ong, and their senatorial candidates, Samira Gutoc, Carl Balita and Jopet Sison, as well as guest candidate John Castriciones will remain focused on their campaign and reach out to as many people as possible.
“We will keep our focus to reach out to the people. Through our sorties and town hall meetings. We will keep doing it as well as asking them their situation,” Moreno told reporters in Albay on the third day of his Bicol sortie.
“We will try to reach as many kilometers as possible, reach as many eyeballs as possible.
We will continue to reach to as many people as we can and try to convince them. We will let them feel what we want to achieve in the future,” he said, adding they intend to visit two regions per week.
“As much as possible ‘yan ang approach namin. Diretso sa mga tao,” he added.
The 47-year-old mayor said he is happy with Marcos and Robredo’s showing in the surveys but added he is more happy to be with the people.
“I’m happy for them, to those who enjoy their numbers. But I’m happy with the people,” he added.
Moreno also said he and his team are hoping to get more campaign resources even as he denied they are scraping their war chest a month after the official campaign period started.
“I hope God will provide good health and hopefully resources. Malalim man ang balon, natutuyo din,” he said.
He had repeatedly mentioned in his speeches that he needed all the support and resources he can muster for his presidential bid as he does not have the resources compared to his more “pedigreed’ rivals. — With Raymond Africa and Ashzel Hachero
