Vice President Leni Robredo placed second in Pulse Asia Inc's January survey on the presidential elections but lagged behind Manila Mayor Isko Moreno when the respondents were asked who their second choice was, which indicated that support for her could have a "ceiling" the pollster said Tuesday.
Robredo was the choice of 16% of 2,400 respondents in the Jan. 19 to 24 poll who were asked who they would vote for if elections were held today. Former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. got 60% while Moreno got 8%.
However, when asked who their second choice candidate was, Moreno topped the list with 24% while Robredo was fourth among second choice candidates with 13%, according to the independent survey.
"That means that the voter preference for Leni has a ceiling such that she will not come out as a second choice," Ana Tabunda, Pulse Asia's research director, told ANC in an interview.
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Moreno's campaign manager, Lito Banayo, previously said that Robredo's voter preference might be capped at 14%, but Tabunda said it might be "too low" as the vice president scored 20% in the December survey.
Tabunda said Robredo's four-point loss from December to January could mean that some of her supporters shifted to Marcos, the only son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
"This is the first time we're seeing a presidential candidate garner more than 50% of the votes," she said of Marcos' score.
Citing information gathered from focus group discussions conducted by credible research groups, Tabunda said, "Apparently some of our people think that Ferdinand E. Marcos is a good president".
"I would encourage the other candidates to still give it a try, to still try to strategize to improve their voter preferences," she said.
Tabunda rejected obervations that surveys could be used to condition the minds of the electorate.
"When we ask them (respondents) if they are influenced by survey results, they say they are not. So I don't think a significant percentage will be affected, will have the bandwagon effect," she said.
Pulse Asia will hold surveys on voter preference for president every month until the May 9 elections, Tabunda said.
EXPLAINERS:
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