Marcos Jr., Duterte-Carpio still No. 1 in latest Pulse Asia survey
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has maintained his lead in the latest Pulse Asia survey on the May presidential elections, with the survey period covering his non-appearance in two major presidential interviews and the dismissal of his disqualification cases before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division.
In the survey conducted Feb. 18 to 23 and released March 14, Marcos Jr. got 60% of the votes among 2,400 respondents. His results from the previous February survey remain unchanged.
The recent Pulse Asia survey took place on the heels of Comelec's First Division junking the three consolidated disqualification cases against Marcos Jr. on Feb. 10. The decision's release was met with criticisms amid the seeming delay, with former commissioner Rowena Guanzon, who retired on Feb. 2, even releasing her separate opinion on Jan. 31.
Pulse Asia also noted that the survey period happened as Marcos Jr.' declined GMA Network's "The Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews" on Jan. 22, with his camp accusing Soho of being "biased" against the Marcoses. He also turned down the forum organized by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas on Feb. 4, citing "conflict of schedule" as his reason.
On Feb. 14, CNN Philippines also announced that Marcos Jr. declined its invitation in its presidential debates on Feb. 27, though at the same time Marcos Jr.'s camp said that he'll be attending one that's hosted by SMNI—the network owned by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy who's wanted by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation for sex trafficking of children. Quiboloy has also endorsed him and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, for the May polls.
Marcos Jr.'s rival Vice President Leni Robredo, meanwhile, ranked a distant second with 15%, which fell 1% from her 16% score in the previous survey.
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso followed with 10%, a 2% improvement from last time when he was previously tied with Sen. Manny Pacquiao, at 8%. Pacquiao maintained his survey numbers from February.
Sen. Ping Lacson, meanwhile, lagged further behind with 2%, down from the previous 4%.
The rest of the presidential bets—Faisal Mangondato, Leody de Guzman, Jose Montemayor, Ernie Abella, and Norbeto Gonzales—all posted numbers below 0.5%.
Pulse Asia reported an error margin of ± 2% nationwide, with a confidence level of 95%.
Duterte-Carpio widens lead in VP surveys
Duterte-Carpio led the vice presidential surveys, even widening her lead to 53% from 50%.
Senate President Tito Sotto, who's trailing the Davao City mayor, got a 5% decrease in his survey numbers, from 29% to 24%.
Robredo's running mate Kiko Pangilinan maintained his spot at third place with 11%.
Dr. Willie Ong saw a 1% increase, from 5% to 6%, while Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza still has 1% of support.
Other vice presidential bets Manny Lopez, Walden Bello, Carlos Serapio, and Rizalito David all got below 0.1%.
Other key developments that took place in the weeks immediately prior to and during the conduct of the survey interviews, according to Pulse Asia, included the following:
- The extension of Alert Level 2 in Metro Manila until Feb. 28, with seven areas outside being placed under Alert Level 3
- The 13 Metro Manila local government units' lifting of mobility restrictions for unvaccinated individuals
- The start of the COVID-19 vaccination drive for kids
- The start of the official campaign period for national candidates on Feb. 8
- The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's partial report on the Pharmally scandal
- The petition filed by jeepney drivers and operators to increase the minimum fare amid rising oil prices
- The Feb. 21 order of Russian President Vladimir Putin to send troops to Ukraine