Poe still leads presidential race – survey

MANILA – If the latest Pulse Asia survey is to be believed, Sen. Mary Grace Poe Llamanzares remains the leading candidate for president and vice president in the May 2016 elections, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey.
This as Poe topped the Pulse Asia survey conducted on Sept. 8 to 14 for most preferred candidates for president with 26 percent.
Meanwhile, Poe and her running mate Sen. Francis Escudero remained statistically tied for first place in the latest vice presidential survey of Pulse Asia, garnering 24 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
Marcos, who is being considered as Binay’s running mate, took the third spot with 13 percent.
The three received the highest voter preferences in Metro Manila – Escudero (27 percent), Poe (21 percent) and Marcos (21 percent).
The same survey indicated that former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and Vice President Jejomar Binay, the erstwhile topnotcher, are in a dead heat, obtaining 20 and 19 percent, respectively.

Binay said he was satisfied with the survey but said the results were confusing.
The Vice President is satisfied with the Pulse Asia results considering that he did not have any television advertisement running during the survey period, said lawyer Rico Quicho, Binay’s spokesman. “It showed us that we have a stable core of supporters,” he added.
Quicho said the Vice President will continue to talk directly with the people and work doubly hard to inform them of his track record of helping the poor and programs to bring more employment, quality education, accessible healthcare and reduction of poverty.
The same survey showed that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is a strong contender for the top post with 16 percent.
Pulse Asia said its nationwide survey used face-to-face interviews of 2,400 adult respondents. It has an error margin of plus or minus two percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
By area, Poe was the top choice for president in Metro Manila (26 percent) and the rest of Luzon (31 percent).
Binay was the preferred candidate of 22 percent of Metro Manila respondents, followed by Duterte with 21 percent.
Roxas was the choice for president by a “sizeable plurality” of Visayans with 34 percent, according to Pulse Asia.
Mindanaoans favored Duterte, with 29 percent.
Across socio-economic classes, the most preferred presidential bets of those in Class ABC are Poe (22 percent), Roxas (22 percent), Duterte (20 percent), and Binay (17 percent).
Twenty-six percent of those in Class D expressed support for Poe’s presidential bid. Roxas and Binay each got 19 percent, and Duterte 16 percent.
In Class E, Poe emerged as the most preferred candidate for president with 25 percent, followed by Binay with 20 percent and Roxas with 20 percent.
Pulse Asia research director Ana Maria Tabunda earlier told The STAR that any of the four leading presidential bets could win the 2016 polls.
Poe and Binay are statistically tied for first place in the Aug. 27-Sept. 3 Pulse Asia survey on presidential preference, obtaining 27 percent and 21 percent, respectively. The poll was commissioned by ABS-CBN.
Poe, Binay and Roxas are also statistically tied in the BusinessWorld-Social Weather Stations Pre-Election Survey, taken from Sept. 2 to 5, with 26 percent, 24 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
The other individuals included in this survey, meanwhile, registered voter preferences of at most six percent, Pulse Asia said.
Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was picked by six percent of the respondents. Former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada obtained five percent.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago got three percent, followed by former senator Panfilo Lacson, two percent and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, one percent.
In the rest of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, the leading contenders for vice president are Escudero (19 percent to 26 percent) and Poe (21 percent to 28 percent), Pulse Asia said.
In Class ABC, the most preferred vice presidential aspirants are Poe (24 percent), Escudero (22 percent), Marcos (20 percent) and Cayetano (15 percent).
Poe and Escudero topped the vice presidential race among Classes D and E.
Nine other personalities included in the Pulse Asia survey obtained voter preferences ranging from 0.1 percent to nine percent.
President Aquino received six percent, followed by Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto and Lacson with five percent each.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada both obtained four percent.
Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, who is being groomed to be Roxas’ running mate, got three percent, followed by former senator Francis Pangilinan with two percent. Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner Kim Henares got 0.1 percent.
In the rest of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, the leading contenders for vice president are Escudero (19 percent to 26 percent) and Poe (21 percent to 28 percent), Pulse Asia said.
In Class ABC, the most preferred vice presidential aspirants are Poe (24 percent), Escudero (22 percent), Marcos (20 percent) and Cayetano (15 percent).
Poe and Escudero topped the vice presidential race among Classes D and E.
Nine other personalities included in the Pulse Asia survey obtained voter preferences ranging from 0.1 percent to nine percent.
President Aquino received six percent, followed by Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto and Lacson with five percent each.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada both obtained four percent.
Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, who is being groomed to be Roxas’ running mate, got three percent, followed by former senator Francis Pangilinan with two percent. Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner Kim Henares got 0.1 percent.