Now tied for No. 1 TRUTH UNFOLDING ON DUTERTE: THERE’S NO ESCAPE FROM DESTINY

By Manny Piñol

Two years after a skeptical Rody Duterte brushed off the suggestion that he could be the country’s next President, the truth is starting to unfold – no one escapes from destiny.

In the latest ABS-CBN commissioned survey conducted by Pulse Asia, Duterte was ranked No.1 where he is in a statistical tie with Senator Grace Poe.

The Pulse Asia survey confirmed and validated all other informal surveys conducted by independent media institutions and university students all over the country which showed Duterte leading in the 5-person Presidential contest.

The ABS-CBN-commissioned survey conducted March 8 to 13, showed Duterte getting 25% of the 4,000 respondents while Poe received 26%.

With a margin of error of plus/minus 1.5%, Duterte and Poe are statistically tied for the No. 1 spot.

It marked a steady climb for Duterte who started at No. 4 late last year.

While Poe is tied with Duterte at No. 1, she is in a precarious position.

The ABS-CBN survey was conducted right after the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the Commission on Elections to disqualify Poe from running for President because of residency and citizenship issues.

It was widely expected that Poe would get a boost from that SC decision. In fact, some political observers predicted that she would break away from the 4-person pack after that favourable decision.

While makes her position dangerous is the fact that in the last Presidential Debate in Cebu City on March 20, Duterte was picked as the runaway winner getting as much as 60% of the votes.

Duterte is expected to get a boost from that debate which would be reflected in the next survey.

Political realignments are also already taking shape with Vice President Jejomar Binay losing the support of a big political clan in Cebu and administration bet Manuel Roxas III offending the Muslims of the country with what was considered as a racial slur against them during the debate March 20.

Binay got 22%, Roxas II got 20% while Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago got 3% in the last survey.

Binay and Roxas were perceived to be the big losers in the Cebu City debate while Defensor-Santiago was absent.

With a little over a month to go before the elections, Duterte’s rating is expected to soar further just at the right time.

Barring any major blunder, he could be the first President from Mindanao and the first leader of this country carrying mixed blood – Visayan, Bangsamoro and Indigenous Tribe.

This was the same man who only five months ago refused to file his Certificate of Candidacy for President and had to be convinced to substitute for PDP Laban candidate Martin Diño.

Refusing financial contributions for traditional political funders, Duterte campaigns with shoestring budget.

Should he win the Presidency, as many believe he would, his story would once again prove true that age-old saying: No one escapes from his destiny.

(Photo credit: Duterte image created by John Pagaduan.)