SEVENTY-NINE percent of Filipinos said they did not change their minds on whom they would vote for after watching the first Commission on Elections-sponsored presidential debate, while 72 percent of those who had expressed their preference for a specific candidate will definitely no longer change their minds, the latest The Standard Poll revealed.
Of the 40 percent nationwide who said they watched the debate held at Capitol University in Cagayan de Oro City on Feb. 21, just 21 percent said they changed their mind depending on the performance of their earlier bets.
According to the survey done by this newspaper’s resident pollster, Junie Laylo, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Grace Poe performed the best during debate, with 28 percent and 27 percent nationwide, respectively.
The opinion varied greatly across geographical areas, however. In the National Capital Region, Northern and Central Luzon, Poe emerged best performer with 34 percent, 33 percent and 37 percent, respectively. Respondents from the Visayas and Mindanao gave her a rating of only 17 percent each.
In Mindanao, 57 percent of respondents said Duterte performed the best. Ratings from respondents in the NCR, North and Central Luzon, South Luzon and Bicol and Visayas were 18 percent, 15 percent, 15 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
Administration candidate Manuel Roxas II, a native of Capiz, was adjudged best performer by 38 percent of respondents in the Visayas even as he ranked only third among respondents nationwide at 18 percent.
Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago were named best debate performer by 14 percent and 9 percent of respondents nationwide.
Among those who said the debate changed their minds, 42 percent of Duterte’s voters, 36 percent of Binay’s, 62 percent of Roxas’ and 16 percent of Santiago’s now prefer Senator Grace Poe.
Forty-one percent of those who used to prefer Poe, 51 percent of those who preferred Binay, 18 percent of those who chose Roxas and 45 percent of those who chose Santiago have shifted to Duterte.
Thirty-six percent of Poe’s previous supporters, 23 percent of Duterte’s and 39 percent of Santiago’s are now inclined to vote for Roxas. No previous Binay supporters expressed preference for the former Interior and Local Governments secretary.
Twenty-three percent of Poe’s previous likely voters, 26 percent of Duterte’s and 12 percent of Roxas now prefer Binay.
Eight percent of Duterte’s voters, 13 percent of Binay’s and 3 percent of Roxas’ expressed preference for Santiago.
Of Roxas’ previous supporters, 5 percent said they no longer had any preference.
Broken down into specific regions, the highest percentage of respondents who watched the debate were from the Davao region (58 percent), followed by those from the Zamboanga Peninsula (56 percent), Northern Mindanao (53 percent) and the NCR (52 percent).
Those who were most steadfast on their choices even after watching the debate were from Mimaropa, Davao Region and Soccskargen (89 percent each), Caraga (88 percent) and Northern Mindanao (85 percent).
The highest percentage of respondents who changed their minds after the debate were from Negros Island and Eastern Visayas (50 percent each) and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (38 percent).
Meanwhile, just 28 percent of respondents nationwide who already chose their specific candidates said they may still change their minds.
Seventy-eight percent of the 24 percent who said they would vote for Duterte said they will definitely not change their minds.
Among the voters who prefer Roxas (22 percent), Binay (23 percent), Poe (26 percent) and Santiago (2 percent), 74 percent, 70 percent, 66 percent and 64 percent said they will definitely no longer change their minds.
The Standard Poll was conducted in 79 provinces among 3,000 biometrically registered voters between Feb. 24 and March 1 this year. The national figures have a margin of error of plus/minus 1.8 percent.