INDEPENDENT presidential candidate Grace Poe topped the poll conducted by Veritas Truth Survey on Servant Leadership qualities for the May 9 national and local elections.
In the survey conducted by the Church-run Radio Veritas, Poe bagged nine out of the 10 qualities of a servant leader as 59 percent of those polled believed she possessed most of the qualities of a good leader.
“The Veritas Truth Survey is being conducted to know if [the] candidates for the coming election possess [the] qualities of a servant leader based on the points of view of the voting public and to assess how such qualities would affect voters’ decisions,” Radio Veritas president Anton C.T. Pascual said.
He made his statement even as Senator Poe said she was overwhelmed by the results of the Veritas Truth Survey.
“This very same zeal and dedication is what she intends to bring to the governing table if given the chance to serve as chief executive of the country,” said Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian, Poe’s spokesman.
The nationwide survey asked the respondents to rank the five presidential candidates based on the 10 qualities of a servant leader including listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of the people and building community.
Poe was followed by People’s Reform Party presidential bet Miriam Defensor-Santiago who has been “consistently ranked second in half of the given traits” or 51 percent.
The standard bearer of PDP-Laban Rodrigo Duterte and Liberal party bet Manuel Roxas II tied for third after both received 44 percent.
Vice President Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance ranked last after obtaining 41 percent from the respondents.
On the first quality of a servant leader, which is listening, 3 out of 4 (76.5 percent) chose Poe followed by Roxas (54.3 percent), Santiago (53.9 percent), Binay (50.5 percent) and Duterte (44. 65 percent).
A great majority of the respondents or 70.8 percent said Poe was the most empathetic among the presidential candidates. Binay was next (52.5 percent) followed by Duterte (46.5 percent), Roxas (45 percent) and Santiago (40.9 percent).
On the third quality of a servant leader, healing, half of the respondents or 51.1 percent favored Poe followed by Santiago (36 percent), Roxas (30.3 percent), Duterte (29.2 percent) and Binay 24.5 percent).
Three out of every four respondents or 75.1 percent said Santiago had the servant leadership quality of awareness. She was followed by Binay (65 percent), Roxas (61.7 percent), Duterte (56.1 percent) and Poe (48.7 percent).