Group: Isko is second favorite among presidential candidates 

CEBU, Philippines —  A local group supporting the presidential bid of Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno has claimed that the actor turned politician is the veritable second favorite among all the presidentiables.

The group Ikaw Muna (IM) Pilipinas said that beyond the seemingly mind conditioning created by various mainstream survey institutions, a brewing shifts and turns in the trenches in the presidential race is allegedly becoming apparent.

One worth noting is the recent open declaration of support for Isko Moreno Domagoso by the grassroots organization of President Duterte, the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte-National Executive Committee (MRRD-NEC), which validates ground reports that diehard Duterte supporters (DDS) are now abandoning the Marcos camp.

“Ang ako di masabtan kay ngano way coverage sa mainstream media ang legit surveys instead ga-focus sa mga mock survey sa schools nga, all know, are not really indicative of any demographic opinion trend. Halimbawa, Isko ay talagang nangunguna sa likeability factor,” said Nick Malazarte Jr., IM Pilipinas political officer for Visayas.

Conducted Jan. 18-19 with 2,400 respondents and released over a week ago, the fourth Manila Bulletin-Tangere voter preference survey confirmed the general trajectory of the December preference surveys. But there a number of slight, although significant, changes.

This survey confirms the massive lead being built by presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos. This latest survey gives him an unprecedented 57.67 percent share. It is notable that Isko Moreno has now edged up to second place, getting a 16.75 percent share against Leni Robredo’s 15.08 percent.  Ping Lacson has a 4.71 percent share while Manny Pacquiao has 4.29 percent.

There are more dramatic developments in the vice presidential race. Sara Duterte now has a majority 53.17 percent share while her closest rival Tito Sotto’s share dropped to just 19.42 percent. Willie Ong is running third with 17.54 percent while Kiko Pangilinan’s share shrunk to just 5.96 percent.

 All the systematic voter preference surveys done since late November show Marcos garnering over half the votes. In the Bulletin survey, Sara joins her political partner in this regard.

Meanwhile, Moreno appears to be picking up voters from the flagging Lacson and Pacquiao campaigns. Malazarte claimed that in the internal survey undertaken by the Marcos campaign, Moreno overwhelms the second choice and likeability ratings of Robredo.

“If VP Leni attacks BBM and successfully shave off some polling points from BBM, the irony is hindi pupunta sa kanya ang upticks from the polling samples but to Isko since he is the overwhelming second choice,” Malazarte said.

 Lately, Robredo seems to have adjusted her strategy, attacking Marcos directly and incessantly. But whatever votes she might succeed in shaking off from Marcos allegedly appears to be falling onto Moreno’s yard. This presents the Robredo campaign with a dilemma.

In the Marcos-commissioned survey, Robredo suffers from a significant net negative in her likeability ratings. During the kick-off rallies of the official campaign period, the Robredo campaign likely committed another tactical mistake by choosing to launch in Naga City. Pacquiao did worse by launching in Saranggani. That yields the vote-rich Mega Manila area to the Marcos and Moreno campaigns. — FPL (FREEMAN)