DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/21 June) – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s rise in surveys on preferred candidates for President in 2016 has continued, with the latest Asia Pulse survey ranking him third among 10 possible candidates and the Social Weather Stations (SWS) ranking him a very close fourth – with only one per cent difference – to Local Governments Secretary Mar Roxas.
In the Pulse Asia nationwide survey conducted on May 30 to June 5, and in the SWS nationwide survey June 5 to 8, Vice President Jejomar Binay was dislodged from the number 1 spot by Senator Grace Poe (30% Asia Pulse; 42% SWS).
Binay slid to number 2 with 22 % in Asia Pulse and 34% in SWS.
Duterte ranked third in Pulse Asia (15%) and fourth in SWS (20%).
Roxas ranked fourth in Pulse Asia with only 10% but was one per cent higher than Duterte in SWS (21%). Roxas tied with former President, now Manila mayor Joseph Estrada in the Pulse Asia survey.
Duterte, who hails from Mindanao, topped the Pulse Asia survey in Mindanao and was a rank and percentage higher in the Visayas survey than Roxas, who hails from the Visayas.
The Pulse Asia survey listed 10 names for President: Poe, Binay, Duterte, Roxas, Estrada, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, former Senator Panfilo “Lacson, former chair of the Presidential Commission on Good Governance (PCGG) Camilo Sabio and former Ambassador Roy Seneres.
The SWS survey asked for three names from the respondents on who they think would be the “best leaders to succeed Pres. Noynoy Aquino in 2016.” Fourteen names were given by the respondents: Poe, Binay, Roxas, Duterte, Estrada, Lacson, Senator Francis Escudero, Santiago, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Cayetano, former Senator Manuel Villar, Binay (no first name indicated), Senator Loren Legarda and Senator Antonio Trillanes .
Strongest, weakest
Duterte, according to the Pulse Asia survey, is strongest in Mindanao with 37% followed by Binay’s 18% and Poe’s 15%, Joseph Estrada’s 16% and Roxas’ 8% but is weakest in balance of Luzon (outside the National Capital Region) with only 7% compared with Poe’s 36%, Binay’s 22%, Roxas’ 12 and Estrada’s 8%.
In the National Capital Region, Duterte ranked third at 11%, against Poe’s 32%, Binay’s 22%, Estrada’s 9% and Roxas’ 5%.
In the Visayas, Duterte also ranked third with 13%, against Poe’s 30%, Binay’s 26%, Roxas’ 12% and Estrada’s 7th.
Among the five on top of the list – Poe, Binay, Duterte, Roxas and Estrada – only Roxas hails from the Visayas but Duterte was a rank and a percentage higher than Roxas.
Overall, Duterte’s popularity has risen in the SWS surveys — from 5% in November-December 2014 to 15% in March 2015 and 20% in June 2015.
The June survey posted on its website, however, did not include details on the rankings of the candidates in the National Capital Region (NCR), balance of Luzon (BL), Visayas and Mindanao.
Vice President
In the vice-presidential race, the Pulse Asia survey showed Poe also topping it nationwide with 41%, followed by Escudero at 15%, Cayetano at 12%, Duterte and Marcos at 9%.
Duterte did not top the survey in Mindanao for vice president but ranked second to Poe –17% against Poe’s 41%, Escudero’s13%, and Cayetano’s 10% and Marcos’ 5%.
In the Visayas, Duterte also ranked second at 15% against Poe’s 39%, Escudero’s and Cayetano’s 13% and Marcos’ 10%.
Duterte has repeatedly said he would not run for President but has been going around the country for a “listening tour” on federalism. (MindaNews)
