PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has topped a TIME Magazine reader poll on who should be in the publication’s annual list of 100 most influential people in the world, beating out the likes of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Pope Francis, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.
Before we start beating our chests over the achievement, however, let’s take a few things in perspective.
First, the result doesn’t make Mr. Duterte the most influential leader in the world; it just means more of the President’s supporters took the time to fill out an online form on the magazine’s website to tell TIME that they believed he belongs on the list. TIME Magazine, in fact states quite clearly that it is its editors, and not the result of any survey, that will determine the final TIME 100 list, which will be released April 20.
Second, TIME Magazine itself does not say how many people actually voted from March 24 to April 16, saying only that Dutere received five percent of the total “yes” votes in the poll, beating out Trudeau, the Pope, Gates and Zuckerberg, all of whom received three percent. The lack of absolute numbers suggests that TIME Magazine might have been hedging against a low turnout for its online poll.
Third, TIME itself hints at the possibility of having its own poll skewed by an organized online effort. In a March 30 post on its website in which it announced the President’s lead, the magazine writes: “Duterte has been known to use social media to promote his agenda and has reportedly paid people to push him to popularity online.”
Still, the Palace welcomed the results and recognition given to the President.
“What makes President Rodrigo R. Duterte so admired by Filipinos and international leaders alike is his national agenda—he has prioritized public interest first and foremost, especially the needs and aspirations of the poor and common people,” said Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella, forgetting, perhaps, that the TIME reader poll was all about being influential, and not necessarily admired.
A more relevant poll released at about the same time showed that a majority of Filipinos—about 78 percent—approve of the work the President is doing. The March 2017 Ulat ng Bayan Survey from Pulse Asia Research also showed that Filipinos generally approved of the work done by Vice President Leni Robredo (58 percent) and Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III (55 percent).
Unlike the TIME poll, the Pulse Asia survey clearly states that its findings were based on interviews with 1,200 representative adults 18 years and above, and that it had a ± 3 percent error margin at the 95 percent confidence level.
But even these results need to be taken with a grain of salt. We only need to recall how, as the nation’s public transport system went to hell in a handbasket during the last administration, nameless survey respondents were still giving President Benigno Aquino III high approval and trust ratings—certainly proof positive that opinion polls measure the public’s satisfaction with its own ignorance.