Mar moves up to 2nd in April 26-29 Pulse poll

MANILA, Philippines – With only five days left before the May 9 polls, Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II rose to second place in the latest Pulse Asia survey – ahead of Sen. Grace Poe by a point and 11 points behind frontrunner Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

The ABS-CBN-commissioned survey, conducted from April 26 to 29, showed Roxas gaining two points from the last survey to 22 percent, and Poe losing a point to end with 21 percent.

Roxas is statistically tied with Poe if the survey’s margin of error of 1.5 percentage points is applied, Pulse Asia said.   

While maintaining his lead, Duterte’s rating was unchanged at 33 percent. The previous survey was held from April 19-24.

Like Poe, Vice President Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance also lost one point to 17 percent. Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s voter preference stayed at two percent.

Around four percent of the respondents answered “don’t know, refused, undecided or none.”

The Davao mayor also maintained a tight grip on Mindanao, his bailiwick, with a voter preference of 58 percent, unchanged from his April 19-24 rating in the region.

Duterte also led in the National Capital Region with 40 percent, up from his 34 percent rating in the previous survey.

Poe emerged as the top bet in Luzon with 28 percent (from 29 percent), while Roxas continued to lead in the Visayas, his bailiwick, with 38 percent (from 37 percent).

By social-economic class, Duterte was the preferred candidate of those in classes ABC and the biggest voting bloc D at 37 percent and 33 percent, respectively.

He shared the lead in Class E with Roxas at 31 percent and 24 percent, respectively.

Poe also remains the top alternative candidate for president if respondents’ first choice leaves the race.

Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes noted no significant changes in the ratings with regard to the presidential survey.

He also expressed belief that Duterte is still not guaranteed of victory despite his 11-point lead over his closest rival.

“I would not say so,” Holmes said when asked if Duterte is pulling away from his rivals. 

‘Let us not falter’

Heartened by the latest Pulse Asia survey results, Roxas called on his followers to continue the fight for a decent government.

“We urge all of you – accompany me and Leni,” he said, referring to his runningmate Rep. Leni Robredo.

“We have gone far but we will go farther if you are with us,” Roxas said in a press briefing at the LP headquarters in Quezon City.

“Let us not falter. This is the good fight. This is the fight of our lives. I won’t give you any reason to regret the support you gave us,” he added.

Roxas said he and Leni would do everything to address their concerns and complaints against the government.

“We admit that there are inadequacies and you have legitimate concerns. But as Leni and I have been saying, we will fill the gaps and correct the mistakes. We are ready to listen and we will strengthen existing programs to make them successful,” the LP standard-bearer said.

“We will do what we can so that your concerns will be addressed immediately in our first 100 days, regardless of who will be affected. We will not allow your concerns to be ignored,” he added.  

“The momentum is now clearly with us. While our rivals’ standings have not moved or have declined, we’re moving up and this is a reflection of the continued trust and support of our countrymen and we thank them for that,” Roxas pointed out.

“I know that many of you have just recently decided to vote for us, and we really appreciate and value your support for me and Leni,” he said.

He recalled that last year many thought that he and Robredo had no chance at all in the May elections. He said the changes in the poll standings were “a major development in the elections.”

With his latest survey standing, Roxas declared it’s now between him and Duterte.

“Many feel that it’ll be just Mayor Duterte and I who will slug it out. The people have seen that our campaign with Leni is the only one that is for clean, transparent and honest government,” Roxas said.

“The people have seen that in my over 20 years in public service, we’ve been clean, honest and one who’s transparent compared to one who always talks dirty and engages in double-speak,” he said.

Intact

In Malacañang, Presidential Communications Operation Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the development showed the administration tandem would prevail in the end.

“The continuing uptrend of the Daang Matuwid tandem indicates that as election day nears, increasing numbers of Filipinos are signifying their belief in good governance as the key to sustaining inclusive economic growth,” Coloma said.

“We are delighted at the numbers of both Mar and Leni, at both their surges. The next few days will be an opportunity for Mar and Leni to present to the people the tandem that will press further progress and address ongoing concerns of our people,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said. 

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. stressed the LP remains intact as shown by Roxas’ improving ratings in surveys.

“We’re intact and more leaders have reiterated their support for our presidential candidate,” Belmonte, campaign manager for the Daang Matuwid coalition, said.

Meanwhile, the Youth Against Poverty and Corruption, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Anak Mindanao and the Citizens’ Against Corruption party-list groups expressed support yesterday for Roxas and Robredo.

“We recognize and appreciate the progress of the past six years, but understand that there is still much that remains to be done. We entrust the dreams and hopes of our constituents to Mar, knowing he will continue and uphold what is right. We stand with him in the fight to give our people freedom from hunger, freedom from fear and freedom to dream,” the party-list groups said in a statement.

Last week, Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas of the Nacionalista Party and 22 mayors of the province reiterated their support for Roxas.

But for Poe’s runningmate Sen. Francis Escudero, the standings of the candidates in pre-election surveys could still change on election day and so the challenge for him and Poe is to find a way to turn the tide in their favor in the last few days of the campaign.

Escudero said he is not questioning the validity of these surveys and, in fact, he is always looking at the ones that have him with the lowest ratings to serve as his guide for his next move.

“It is constantly spinning. Sometimes it’s fast and sometimes it’s slow. The challenge is how to get us from the bottom to the top by May 9,” Escudero said, likening survey results to a wheel.

With limited resources compared to their rivals, Escudero said he and Poe have been relying on hard work during the campaign to get the support of the electorate.

Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian, Poe’s spokesman, also said the presidential race is still a three-cornered fight.

“Clearly, Senator Poe, who is in a statistical tie with Sec. Roxas, is not yet out of the game and continues to pose a strong challenge to Mayor Duterte’s candidacy,” Gatchalian said.

“On top of the survey results, the warm reception she is getting everywhere she goes is another proof that in the end, she will prevail. We are confident that our message and the logistics we placed on the ground will carry her to ultimate victory,” he added.

Binay, for his part, said he no longer pays attention to popularity surveys. “I no longer look at surveys because it will only increase my doubts on these,” Binay told reporters in an interview in Isabela.

He expressed confidence he would win by a wide margin in the so-called “Solid North.”

Binay and UNA senatorial candidates yesterday campaigned in Isabela, his mother’s home province. He said among the presidential candidates, he is the only one from Northern Luzon. He said he won big in the region in 2010 despite the absence of support from many local officials. – With Alexis Romero, Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy, Delon Porcalla