MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senator Grace Poe are tied again in a new presidential poll conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) conducted a week ago, showing erratic changes in the ranking of the leading candidates.
Binay and Poe were each chosen by 26% of 1,200 respondents polled from December 12-14, according to a report published by BusinessWorld.
The other candidates are close behind. Administration candidate Manuel Roxas II was chosen by 22% and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte by 20%.
It is Senator Miriam Santiago who is lagging behind with only 4% of the respondents saying they will vote for her.
The survey has 3 points error margin.
Erratic surveys
A Pulse Asia survey conducted a week earlier, December 4-11, showed Binay's gains to become the survey leader again. But the same survey showed a different story for Poe.
The Pulse survey showed Binay was a runaway winner with 33% of respondents saying they will for him. He is followed by Duterte (23%), Poe (21%), Roxas (17%), and Santiago (4%).
The Pulse survey has captured initial reactions to the decisions of separate Commission on Elections divisions to cancel the candidacy of Poe, a ruling that she appealed but were junked by the Comelec en banc on Tuesday, December 22.
Quoting political scientist Edmund Tayao, the BusinessWorld report said Binay benefitted from the qualification issues hounding Poe and Duterte. The Davao Mayor topped the SWS poll conducted after he declared his presidential bid, but he also faces at least 3 disqualification cases.
Another survey by pollster Junie Laylo about the same time that Pulse Asia conducted its field work showed a different story. Poe led the race with 28% of respondents saying they will vote for her. Binay and Roxas were close behind with 23% and 22% of respondents choosing them, respectively.
Leni's rise
The new SWS survey also shows that Senator Francis Escudero has kept his lead in the vice presidential race with 30% of respondents saying they will vote for him.
Administration candidate Leni Robredo has caught up with her rivals, however. She is tied with Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who like her was chosen by 19% of the respondents, based on the SWS survey.
Senator Alan Cayetano was chosen by 17% of the respondents; and Senator Gregorio Honasan, by 8%.
The ealier Pulse Asia survey showed a tighter race among the vice presidential candidates.– with reports from Carmela Fonbuena/Rappler.com