VICE President Jejomar C. Binay again led with 31 percent on the second platform-based presidential survey conducted by the Philcoman Research Institute Inc. between March 31 and April 15.
Remarkably trailing behind him is Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte with 25 percent while former Interior secretary Mar Roxas with 19, Senator Grace Poe with 16 and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago with seven percent.
Dr. Ernie Gonzales, a fellow of the London School of Economics and Political Science and PCMRII director for research, said their field researchers asked 1,200 random respondents whom they would vote for president if elections were held on schedule on four important issues: social (poverty and criminality), political (parliamentary or presidential), economics (nationalist economics, export-oriented, regulated, etc.) and national security (BBL, CPP-NPA and other threats).
Differing from the usual popularity survey conducted by other research organizations, the PCMRII survey is a policy-oriented research study where respondents are asked who of the candidates they think have concrete plans for the country based on the four interrelated important issues.
The previous survey results that were released during the last week of March had Binay on top of the list with 27 percent; behind him was Poe with 21 percent; Santiago, 18 percent; Roxas, 16 percent; Duterte, 15 percent; and with 3 percent of the 1,200 participants were undecided.
Two percent out of the respondents still remained undecided. The sampling errors for national percentages is three percent, plus or minus; six for regionals; and the same for Metropolitan Manila.
Each percentage point is equivalent to 440,000 votes, assuming 44 million of the 54 million registered voters cast their ballot on May 9 as ordained by the Constitution, Gonzales said.
Of the presidential candidates, Binay is the only one with clearly defined platforms on the issues asked of the respondents by PMCRII researchers, who found that the graft and corruption issue has not really affected the standing of the Vice President, he added.
Most respondents believed that there is a need to draw a strategic plan to eradicate the menace, and presidential candidates Poe, Duterte and Roxas, beyond merely talking loudly about the subjects, according to some researchers, have not really offered a concrete plan to stifle the problem.
Senator Poe’s rating went down as most respondents marked her as pro-oligarch and pro-status quo with no anti-poverty, socio-economic and national security platforms. Duterte increased his standing because of his strong anti-crime advocacy. Santiago’s rating continued to slide as many respondents believed she is seriously ill, Gonzales said.
In the vice presidential race, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. increased his rating by two from his previous 31 percent with Sen. Chiz Escudero trailing behind at 26 percent, Sen. Gregorio B. Honasan at 17 percent, Rep. Leni Robredo at 13 percent, Sen. Allan Cayetano at 9 percent and Sen. Trillanes’s 4 percent.
Marcos offers a clearly-defined solutions than his rivals on the problems of graft and plunder, the Mindanao problem, the worsening crime situation and lack foreign affairs direction, Gonzales said.
Like in the previous survey, Marcos was not much affected by the martial law and human rights issues that have been raised against him.
Previously unrated senatoriables have joined Sen. Vicente Sotto in the magic seven after they explained their anti-poverty, anti-crime and pro-economic nationalist platforms.
Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez is now in No. 2, followed by Sen. Ralph Recto, former Sen. Richard Gordon, Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, Harvard-trained socio-economist Susan Ople and Senate Pres. Frank Drilon, in that order.
Sotto III still led the survey, now with 56 percent; remarkably followed by Romualdez, 52 percent; Sen. Recto, 50 percent; Dick Gordon, 48 percent; Sa Pacquiao, 46; Ople, 44; Drilon, 42; former Sen. Ping Lacson, 40; former Sen. Francis Pangilinan, 41; Sen. Teofisto “TG” Guingona, 39; Sen. Migz Zubiri, 38; former Tesda director general Joel Villanueva, 37; Sen. Serge Osmena, 35; former MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino, 31; and Rep. Neri Colmenares, 29.
Osmena’s rating significantly went down as respondents recalled his role in the framing of the EPIRA or Electric Power Industry Reform Act that continuously shot up electricity rates instead of going down as promised. Sotto did not vote for the passage of the EPIRA.
Founded in 1954, as Philcoman and later revitalized as PCMRII, is a nation-wide non-governmental federation of professional and technological societies, management development institutions, academe, business enterprises, and professional managers dedicated to the development of management and improvement of management practices in all aspects of Philippine society.
