Leni Robredo Tops Bloomberg Presidential Poll of Investors, Analysts

Leni Robredo topped Bloomberg's poll of analysts and investors who said she's the best presidential candidate to lead the economy out of the pandemic. Bongbong Marcos was near the bottom of the list.

Robredo got the highest score of 106 from a pool of 28 respondents, who were asked to rate presidential candidates from 1 to 5, with 5 as the "most positive", Bloomberg reported.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson was second with 91 points, followed by Manila Mayor Isko Moreno with 81. Marcos got 46 while Sen. Manny Pacquiao got 44, Bloomberg said.

Marcos was the top choice in Pulse Asia's Feb. 18 to 23 poll, emerging as the choice of 60%, followed by Robredo with 15%. In the weeks after the survey, Robredo had mobilized tens of thousands in campaign rallies that showed her growing momentum, according to her office.

“What we need is a captain who will bring us out of the storm,” Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at the Philippines' largest lender BDO Unibank Inc was quoted as saying. The report did not say how Ravelas rated Robredo.

“The next leader must be able to address the economic and social crises we are confronting, to put us back on the path to faster growth. How our markets will perform will depend greatly on that," he said.

The Philippine economy is mired in the deepest recession since World War II after one of the world's longest COVID lockdowns. Many urban centers, including Metro Manila, are shifting to the new normal this March, with only mask-wearing and vaccine cards as minimum requirements.

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