MANILA, Philippines — If the latest Pulse Asia survey is any indication, it appears the “UniTeam” tandem of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio are on track to win the May 9 elections.
Marcos has maintained his wide lead over his competitors for a seat in Malacañang in the latest Pulse Asia survey which showed virtually no changes from the previous poll conducted in March.
In the poll conducted from April 16 to 21, Marcos kept 56% of the respondents on his side, while his closest rival for the presidency, Vice President Leni Robredo, dropped by one point to 23%.
Surveys are snaphots of public sentiment during a certain period and that sentiment can change.
Some shifts, but picture largely unchanged
While the bigger picture is generally unchanged, some significant changes happened to the numbers of Marcos and Robredo at the regional level.
Marcos dropped by seven points in Metro Manila, while Robredo gained nine points in the same vote-rich region and six points in the Visayas. Her gains, however, were negated by a six-point drop in Balance Luzon and a three-point drop in Mindanao, where Marcos gained five points.
Marcos also gained five points among voters in Class E, while Robredo gained two points in the same class. The vice president dropped by one point in Classes ABC and D, while the former lawmaker gained one point in Class ABC and was unmoved in Class D.
The numbers of most of the other presidential candidates in the 10-person race were unchanged, except for Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, who suffered a four-point loss and dropped to fourth place with Sen. Manny Pacquiao overtaking him for third place.
In a statement, Robredo spokesperson Barry Gutierrez said the vice president's survey numbers "remain encouraging" as they show her "upward trajectory and momentum."
He added the survey has not captured the series of massive rallies for Robredo, including the one in Pasay City where organizers claimed attendance of 400,000 people.
Duterte-Carpio also keeps lead
Duterte-Carpio also maintained her lead over her competitors for vice president with 55% of respondents saying they would vote for her if elections were held during the survey period, according to the same poll.
This is one point lower compared to the previous poll, but changes among contenders for the vice-presidency are also insignificant.
Duterte-Carpio keeps a massive 37-point lead over Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who dropped two points to 18% largely due to a 12-point drop in the Visayas, where Sen. Kiko Pangilinan surged by 10 points.
Pangilinan also increased in Metro Manila by eight points and in Mindanao by two points, but this only yielded a one-point overall rise.
The latest Pulse Asia survey differed from the previous polls conducted by the private company as respondents were asked to fill up a mock ballot as opposed to picking from a list of candidates.