MANILA, Philippines — A newly released poll showed that former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is still leading the presidential race by a wide margin, even as his numbers declined, while Vice President Leni Robredo, his closest rival for Malacañang, surged.
In a survey by private pollster Pulse Asia, Marcos dropped four percentage points to 56% from 60% in February, while Robredo leaped nine percentage points from 15% to 24%.
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The poll was conducted from March 17 to 21, capturing the presidential debates of CNN Philippines and the Commission on Elections, which Robredo attended but Marcos skipped. It was also during this time that Robredo held mammoth rallies across the country, including in Pasig City which was attended by some 130,000 people.
Marcos’ four-point drop was due to his decline in all regions and in all economic classes, except for A and B, which Pulse Asia still did not provide numbers for.
In contrast, Robredo posted two-digit leaps in Balance Luzon (+14), Class C (+13) and D (+10) and only declined by one point in Metro Manila.
Prior to the release of this survey, the Robredo campaign was saying that the polls that have been released have yet to capture the groundswell of support for the independent presidential candidate, which they said is seen in her massive rallies.
Meanwhile, voter preference for other presidential candidates were practically unmoved, with Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso getting 8%, Sen. Manny Pacquiao with 6% and Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson with 2%.
Marcos' running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, is also still leading the pack of vice-presidential candidates as she increased by three percentage points to 56% from 53%.
Lacson’s running mate, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, comes in at a far second at 20%, followed by Robredo’s running mate, Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, at 15%, and Domagoso’s running mate, Willie Ong, at 5%.