Fact check: 'SWS trust approval' survey of aspirants for Pasig City posts
MANILA, Philippines — A supposed Social Weather Stations survey, sourced from the Commission on Election, on aspirants for mayor of Pasig City has been posted on social media.
CLAIM: An infographic on "SWS Survey Trust Approval" of incumbent Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and Vice Mayor Iyo Caruncho, who are facing off in the 2022 polls, has been posted on social media.
The infographic stated that it was conducted by the Social Weather Station’s PasigPH Chapter, and its source is the "Comelec-Philippines Transparency Survey."
RATING: These posts are fake.
FACTS:
What did the posts say
A cursory check of Philstar.com showed that the infographic was posted on BOSES ng PASIGasig and Manggahan Pasig Updates.
BOSES ng PASIGasig posted two infographics on December 6. The first showed Sotto with 52% “trust approval rating,” and Caruncho with 47%, leaving 1% of supposed survey respondents from District 1 and 2 of Pasig City as undecided.
The same page, with 3,800 likes and 4,700 followers, also posted another social card showing Councilor Jun-Jun Concepcion with 55% “trust approval rating.” Former Councilor Christian “Ian” Sia has 25%, former Rep. Robert “Dodot” Jaworski Jr. (Pasig City) with 18% and 2% of respondents as undecided.
Philstar.com screengrab as of Dec. 8, 8:54 a.m.
All the five names that appeared in the fake infographic are seeking mayor or vice mayor posts of Pasig City.
What they left out
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez refuted the supposed survey sourced from the poll body. In a tweet, Jimenez wrote: “The Comelec has not commissioned or participated in ‘transparency survey.’”
He added that he has not been able to verify the infographic's authenticity with the SWS.
The COMELEC has not commissioned or participated in any “Transparency Survey.” Nor have I been able to verify this infographic’s authenticity, with the SWS. pic.twitter.com/rQu9yIPdxQ
— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) December 7, 2021
Sotto, who is seeking reelection, also posted a screenshot of Jimenez’s tweet, adding that the same survey for vice mayor, congressman and councilors are also fake.
“Dumadami ang fake news. Maging mapanuri. Kailangan proactive tayo laban dito,” he added.
Essential context
The SWS was quoted in report by The STAR warning that public that fake surveys become common as the election nears.
“Everyone is enjoined to rely on the SWS website at www.sws.org.ph for its survey reports released to the public. SWS does not entertain inquiries about survey reports that are not posted on the SWS website,” it added.
A 2016 Philstar.com Newslab report on pre-election surveys quoted political analyst Richard Heydarian explaining that there are some people who engage in strategic voting, which means taking their cue from who is leading in opinion polls.
"For instance, if you have a preferred candidate and you see that for the last six months he is always a laggard, the tendency is you will shift to your the other preference who you feel has a chance to win," Heydarian said then.
Why does this matter?
BOSES ng PASIGasig has thousands of followers, while Manggahan Pasig Updates has nearly 900 followers. The posts carrying the fake infographics have been shared 61 times, and 15 times, respectively, in both accounts.
Sotto’s clarification on the matter on his Facebook meanwhile has earned more than 11,000 reactions, at least 835 comments and has been shared 657 times.
Aside from fake surveys, Philstar.com has also monitored posts containing false information on aspirants for national posts that supposedly backed out of the race or have been disqualified.
Rumors like these are among attempts of voter suppression that the Comelec is also monitoring. — Kristine Joy Patag
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