The Marketing and Opinion Research Society of the Philippines (MORES) said Sunday it was supporting research firms Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations (SWS), against doubts on the integrity and accuracy of their pre-election surveys done during the 90-day campaign period.
In a statement, MORES said the two firms, being their corporate members, had “resolved to uphold professional standards in delivering the most precise and representative feedback and insights, as evidenced by their reputation and track record.”
“MORES supports companies who deliver results with consistency and reliability. Companies such as SWS and Pulse Asia have shown their commitment to use scientific methods to provide public opinion representative of ANY population of interest,” it said.
“Surveys nowadays cannot only be good. It has to be excellent,” the society added.
Former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. had consistently enjoyed the top spot in the Pulse Asia research firm’s pre-election surveys, with the runner-up behind by some 30 percentage points.
In the final survey, Marcos and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, led their respective races for president and vice president.
Different groups, including a presidential candidate, have questioned Pulse Asia’s pre-election surveys.
Researchers Presidential bet Sen. Panfilo Lacson had noted his zero scores in Visayas and Mindanao in the final pre-election survey conducted last April.
“Aside from the constant 2 percent survey results that they’ve been giving me for the past few months, now it is zero scores in both Visayas and Mindanao,” Lacson said in a May 3 statement.
National Statistical Coordination Board Secretary General Dr. Romulo Virola also released his analyses on the February Pulse Asia survey, saying it had “underrepresented” millennial and Generation Z voters and “overrepresented” voters from older generations, such as baby boomers.
Pulse Asia, in a separate statement, denied accusations of being paid and its work being compromised due to the alleged infiltration of partisan groups.
“Our organization will never submit to any form of material inducement or even intimidation that will make us deviate from or distort accepted social science principles and practice. We have also taken all the necessary safeguards to secure the integrity of our field work against any and all forms of infiltration,” Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes said.
Pre-election surveys can be considered “snapshots of the moment” and reflect the people’s sentiments at the time these were conducted, analysts have explained.
Earlier, PUBLiCUS Asia chief data scientist Dr. David Yap Jr. said, amid accusations that surveys are “polluted,” it was up to the people to interpret their results.“I would like to disagree with the notion that statisticians are soothsayers or fortune tellers. When you consider statistical predictions, even the most advanced method of predictions, are subject to criticism. For the very simple reason that those predictions are based on specific sets of assumptions, the moment that these assumptions are tweaked, those predictions will no longer hold,” he said.
