LABOR leader and presidential candidate Leody de Guzman is paying no heed to surveys showing him at the bottom of the pack in the race for Malacañang Palace.
During a break in his campaign sortie in Dasmariñas, Silang, and Bacoor in Cavite where he joined jeepney drivers in a protest against unabated fuel price increases, De Guzman said he is aware that his name is not even included in different surveys since those who commissioned them are only monitoring the stronger candidates.
“We are not affected by the survey numbers but the people can count on us in Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) to redouble our efforts to reach even more workers and the poor masses,” he said.
The PLM said surveys results are influenced by several factors, including who is paying to commission the study, which group was sub-contracted to do it, who is picking the respondents, and how the questionnaires were formulated.
De Guzman admitted that, just like expensive advertisements on TV, radio, and online, his campaign does not have the millions in funding required to commission a survey.
“Kailangan natin ng trustworthy agency na hindi binabayaran, hindi for profit lamang ang survey. Mayroon namang UP School of Statistics na pwedeng pakilusin para dito (We need a trustworthy agency that is not profit-oriented to conduct a credible survey. We have the UP School of Statistics which has the capability to do this,” he pointed out.
He insisted that regardless of survey figures coming out, he intends to see his own campaign to it conclusion until election day.
“Wala kaming balak umatras at hindi rin namin rerendahan ang mga lider-manggagawa at aming volunteers sa kanilang taos-pusong pag-iikot para ipaliwanag ang kahalagahan at kawastuhan ng paglahok ng kandidatong manggagawa (We have no plans of withdrawing from the race and we are giving labor leaders and volunteers a free hand to mobilize and explain the importance and the timeliness of fielding a candidate that represent our workers),” he said.
