Fact versus fiction MULTITUDE IN DUTERTE RALLIES NOT DUMMIES BUT REAL PEOPLE

By Manny Piñol

Reading the report on the results of the latest survey conducted by Pulse Asia which placed charismatic Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte in third place in the 5-man presidential race made me rub my eyes in disbelief.

I had to shake my head and ask myself whether what I was reading was fact or fiction.

I will concede that maybe, just maybe, Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senator Grace Poe are enjoying fairly high rankings because there are proofs to support that.

But Duterte tied in 3rd place with administration candidate Manuel Roxas III?

Pulse Asia surveyors must have been talking to the wrong people or coached respondents.

Whatever their survey numbers show, it is very evident that Roxas, including Binay and Poe, could not match the crowd that Duterte draws to his events.

Are the people lining up the streets to see Duterte pass by and those who sweat it out in jam-packed gymnasiums to listen to him real or are they just paper maches?

Yesterday in Albay Province in the Bicol Region where the surveys say Duterte is faring very poorly, he was met by a sea of humanity unseen in the appearances of Binay, Poe or Roxas.

Were the Bicolanos who were seen in the pictures listening to Duterte paid to see him?

Obviously not. The pictures taken by Facebook user Maria Josefa V. Demetriou showed that they were simply captivated by the presence of the presidential candidate who cusses but who talks about issues that matter to the ordinary Filipinos today – crime, drugs, corruption and food.

Besides, Duterte does not have the money to even finance his campaign, unlike Roxas who has the luxury of being able to use government resources to campaign, Binay who has stashed billions over the years to fulfill a childhood dream and Poe whose campaign is being bankrolled by big corporations.

This is a perfect example of physical evidence not matching the written testimony.

Duterte, however, was unperturbed by the latest survey results.

As a veteran politician, Duterte relies on his gut feel.

Besides, he is getting into this contest as a reluctant candidate thus he is not haunted by the spectre of losing the elections.

“I could be No. 3 or last in the surveys, it does not bother me at all. I should be the last that people should consider and that would be when they will realise that I am their last card,” he said yesterday in reaction to the results of the latest survey.

This is where Roxas, in one rare moment, makes a correct statement when he said that the survey that matters most will happen on May 9.

I agree.

That will be the day when I would know whether I was seeing a mirage in the Pulse Asia survey numbers or whether the people flocking to Duterte’s rallies were just holograms or real human beings.

May 9 will be the final survey.

(Photos of people flooding Duterte’s rally in Bicol yesterday taken by Maria Josefa V. Demetriou.)