MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte emerged as the overall winner of the final PiliPinas 2016 presidential debate held in Pangasinan on Sunday, April 24, as voted by netizens.
Based on the Rappler poll, Duterte got 65.74% of the total votes, followed by administration standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II with 18.03%.
In 3rd place was Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago with 11.83%, followed by Senator Grace Poe with 3.72% and Vice President Jejomar Binay ending up last with 0.67%.
The popular Davao mayor, who has also been topping other pre-election surveys, was also the netizens' top pick in the last two presidential debates held in Cagayan de Oro and Cebu City.
His consistent first-place finish has been a trend in the previous Rappler polls, with Roxas and Santiago coming in at 2nd or 3rd place, except for the Cebu debate which Santiago skipped.
The Vice President has consistently placed last in the Rappler surveys, earning single-digit figures.
In the final debate, Rappler editors chose Roxas and Poe as winners. Rappler editors said Roxas delivered the best closing statement. He and Poe were winners in the face-off and fast talk rounds of the debate, according to Rappler editors.
The 3rd and final debate was co-organized by the Commission on Elections, ABS-CBN, Manila Bulletin, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, and the PHINMA University of Pangasinan.
The first part of the town hall debate featured sectoral representatives asking questions to the 5 presidential candidates on issues covering the West Philippine Sea, overseas Filipino workers, and metro traffic.
The second part of the debate had the candidates facing off with each other and a rapid-fire series of questions in the "fast talk" portion. – Rappler.com