SWS survey validated DUTERTE AGAIN TOPS MAGDALO PARTY POLL

By Mario Casayuran

Manila Bulletin

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Grace Poe are now in top spots for the presidency.

According to the latest result of the pre-election survey by the Magdalo party, Duterte, who recently decided to run for president, scored 31.9 percent in the survey.

Independent vice presidential candidate Sen. Antonio “Sonny’’ F. Trillanes IV heads the Magdalo party.

Poe, who previously topped surveys prior to the disqualification issues, scored 26 percent.

Rep. Francisco Ashley Acedillo, Magdalo party list representative, explained that “in this re-election survey, which was conducted last December 9-11, we provided respondents with the list of known candidates for president/vice president, and they were asked ‘If elections would be held today, who among the following candidates would you vote for’?’”

Acedillo said that one of the observations during the survey is that a significant number of respondents presumed that Senator Poe was already disqualified in running for President, or were asking if she was already disqualified.

Ironically, Trillanes has been endorsing Poe’s presidential ambitions.

Following Duterte and Poe were Vice President Jejomar Binay with 23.6 percent; former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar’’ A. Roxas II with 13.5 percent; Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago with 4 percent; and former Ambassador Roy Señeres with 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano is the biggest gainer in the vice presidential result of the same survey with 16.6 percent from last October’s 11 percent.

Sen. Francis “Chiz’’ Escudero, running mate of Poe, remains to top the VP survey with 28.8 percent, though his numbers are continuously declining based from previous surveys; followed by Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos with 22.3 percent, which also declined based on October survey’s result.