MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Grace Poe remains the leading candidate for president and vice president in the May 2016 elections, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey.
Poe topped the Sept. 8 to 14 survey for most preferred candidates for president, Pulse Asia said yesterday.
Poe would be elected president by 26 percent of Filipinos if the 2016 polls were held during the survey period, Pulse Asia said.
“This overall voter preference puts her ahead of 11 other probable contenders for the presidency,” the pollster said.
Former interior secretary and Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II, Vice President Jejomar Binay and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte are statistically tied for second place with 20 percent, 19 percent and 16 percent, respectively.
The nationwide survey used face-to-face interviews of 2,400 adult respondents. It has an error margin of plus or minus two percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
By area, Poe was the top choice for president in Metro Manila (26 percent) and the rest of Luzon (31 percent).
Binay was the preferred candidate of 22 percent of Metro Manila respondents, followed by Duterte with 21 percent.
Roxas was the choice for president by a “sizeable plurality” of Visayans with 34 percent, according to Pulse Asia.
Mindanaoans favored Duterte, with 29 percent.
Across socio-economic classes, the most preferred presidential bets of those in Class ABC are Poe (22 percent), Roxas (22 percent), Duterte (20 percent), and Binay (17 percent).
Twenty-six percent of those in Class D expressed support for Poe’s presidential bid. Roxas and Binay each got 19 percent, and Duterte 16 percent.
In Class E, Poe emerged as the most preferred candidate for president with 25 percent, followed by Binay with 20 percent and Roxas with 20 percent.
Pulse Asia research director Ana Maria Tabunda earlier told The STAR that any of the four leading presidential bets could win the 2016 polls.
Poe and Binay are statistically tied for first place in the Aug. 27-Sept. 3 Pulse Asia survey on presidential preference, obtaining 27 percent and 21 percent, respectively. The poll was commissioned by ABS-CBN.
Poe, Binay and Roxas are also statistically tied in the BusinessWorld-Social Weather Stations Pre-Election Survey, taken from Sept. 2 to 5, with 26 percent, 24 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
The other individuals included in this survey, meanwhile, registered voter preferences of at most six percent, Pulse Asia said.
Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was picked by six percent of the respondents. Former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada obtained five percent.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago got three percent, followed by former senator Panfilo Lacson, two percent and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, one percent.
VP race
Poe and her running mate Sen. Francis Escudero remained statistically tied for first place in the latest vice presidential survey of Pulse Asia, garnering 24 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
Marcos, who is being considered as Binay’s running mate, took the third spot with 13 percent.
The three received the highest voter preferences in Metro Manila – Escudero (27 percent), Poe (21 percent) and Marcos (21 percent).
In the rest of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, the leading contenders for vice president are Escudero (19 percent to 26 percent) and Poe (21 percent to 28 percent), Pulse Asia said.
In Class ABC, the most preferred vice presidential aspirants are Poe (24 percent), Escudero (22 percent), Marcos (20 percent) and Cayetano (15 percent).
Poe and Escudero topped the vice presidential race among Classes D and E.
Nine other personalities included in the Pulse Asia survey obtained voter preferences ranging from 0.1 percent to nine percent.
President Aquino received six percent, followed by Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto and Lacson with five percent each.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada both obtained four percent.
Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, who is being groomed to be Roxas’ running mate, got three percent, followed by former senator Francis Pangilinan with two percent. Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner Kim Henares got 0.1 percent.
Poe thankful
Poe said the Filipino people remain her inspiration after topping the latest Pulse Asia survey for president in 2016.
“Again, I thank the Filipino people for their support. It is from them that I draw my strength. More than just a measure of popularity, this is a reminder that we should focus on performance and genuine service,” she said in a text message.
Mar welcomes poll results
Roxas welcomed the results of the Pulse Asia survey and attributed his survey numbers to the public’s trust in the administration’s daang matuwid or straight path policy.
“It proves that the people trust the straight path and President Aquino,” he said.
Allies of Roxas said he has gained momentum in his 2016 presidential bid.
“One thing is clear here: Mar is surging and is unstoppable. I will not be surprised if he tops the survey by the time he officially files his candidacy as our next president,” Cavite Rep. Francis Gerald Abaya said.
Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez said Roxas’ ratings are expected to go up once the LP political machinery is wielded during the campaign period.
Binay unfazed
Binay remains unfazed by the drop in his survey ratings, the Vice President’s spokesman for political affairs Rico Quicho said.
Allies of Binay said the survey proved that his support base remains “solid and strong.”
Meanwhile, President Aquino and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima sought grassroots support for future projects of the administration during the 2015 national assembly of the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas in Pasay City yesterday.
The President showed a video of Cateel, Davao Oriental and Apayao residents who benefited from the various programs and projects of the administration meant to achieve inclusive growth.
He said it would be best to hear the “bosses” or the people themselves tell how the government was able reach out and help them. – With Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero, Alexis Romero, Aurea Calica