Another pre-election preference survey has confirmed Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.’s frontrunner position among the presidential hopefuls in the upcoming 2022 elections.
The survey, conducted by the Issues and Advocacies Center, made public on Tuesday, showed that 51% of the respondents would vote for Marcos Jr., an 8% increase from the December 2021 edition of the survey.
According to The Center’s director Ed Malay, the Pulso ng Pilipino survey was conducted from January 10 to 16, 2022, with 2,400 respondents.
The non-commissioned survey covered 16 cities and one municipality in the National Capital Region (NCR) and included respondents from all socio-economic classes in the surveyed areas.
Meanwhile, the UniTeam of Marcos, Jr. and running mate Davao City Mayor Sarah “Inday” Duterte is committed to provide every Filipino an equal opportunity and a fighting chance in life including those who are living in the streets.
Marcos stressed that if given the mandate in the coming May 2022 elections, the UniTeam intends to intensify the government’s program for “homeless people” to give them roof over their heads and keep them off the streets.
Based on research undertaken by The Borgen Project in 2020, there are an estimated 4.5 million “homeless Filipinos,” or those living in the streets.
Of the said number, 250,000 of them are children, who were displaced owing to unemployment, domestic abuse, human trafficking, and poverty that have forced them to stay in the streets.
The survey also showed a slugfest for the second spot as Manila Mayor Isko Moreno registered 14%, closely followed by Vice President Leni
Robredo with 11%. Sen. Manny Pacquiao completed the statistical three-way tie with 10%.
Sen. Ping Lacson is in fifth place with 8%, while the three remaining presidential aspirants posted 1% or below single digit.
Meanwhile, the UniTeam’s chances in the 2022 elections were further enhanced after the Partido Barug founded by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama endorsed the formidable tandem.
Mayor Rama himself made the formal announcement on Wednesday with other local government officials and his close political allies.
Aside from Partido Barug, the Bakud Party headed by Danao City Mayor Ramon “Nito” Duterte Durano III had also endorsed the 2022 election bid of the UniTeam.
According to Marcos, the government has an existing program for homeless people like free education for street children, the only concern is that many of them continue to flee and return to the streets.
He recommended that the program’s implementation be strengthened.
“Our government’s program is good for our compatriots who are on the streets, the facilities where they live temporarily are simple but good, the only problem is that others still prefer to flee and live on the streets,” Marcos said.
“Maybe the slow implementation of what was promised to them is one of the reasons why they are returning to the streets, just like housing and jobs for them,” he added.
The PFP presidential aspirant added that if elected, he will speed up and improve on the program’s implementation.
He also plans to add the availability of psychological assessments, training at TESDA, and liaise with private companies, government
agencies, and local government units (LGUs) to immediately give them jobs.
“One of the visible ways is to speed up the implementation of the program. I also want to strengthen the psychological assessment to ensure that they fully understand the government’s good intentions towards them,” he stressed.
“And of course, to fix their situation, let’s train them at TESDA, let’s contact private companies, government agencies, and LGUs to give
them jobs immediately after their training,” the PFP standard bearer said.
He also suggested that the homeless people must also be assured that family members remain together in the same facility to maintain their bond and encourage them to look after the welfare of each other.
“We will also make sure that the families are still together at the facility to avoid the depression and stress that is the cause of bad thoughts and escape from the facilities,” he stated.
Marcos added that homeless people will be taught how to manage a small business properly so that they may earn sustainable and more stable income when they choose to leave the facility in the future.