FOLLOWING the last presidential debate hosted by ABS-CBN, The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America” asked its viewers: “If the elections were held today, would you vote for to be the next president of the Philippines?” The result of the April 25 online poll revealed Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte still topping the field of candidates, with 54 percent vote among the viewers who participated.
Former DILG Sec. Mar Roxas placed second, getting 32 percent, followed by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago with 8 percent.
It seems Sen. Grace Poe has lost much enthusiasm among kababayans, getting only 5 percent. Vice President Jejomar Binay remains at the bottom of the pack with only 1 percent of the vote.
Duterte’s dominance in the Fil-Am poll — despite his controversial rape statement that the mayor [Duterte] should have been the first to rape the beautiful Australian woman killed in Mindanao — is also echoed in the most recent Pulse Asia survey conducted in the Philippines during the period April 16-20, before the last debate.
The Pulse Asia Pulso ng Bayan nationwide survey shows Duterte is still leading the race to Malacanang with 35 percent vote, followed by Sen. Grace Poe with 23 percent — a 12 point margin.
Former DILG Sec. Mar Roxas came in third with 17 percent, followed by VP Jejomar Binay with 16 percent vote. Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago garnered 2 percent.
With less than two weeks before the Philippine national election, will Duterte keep his lead? Will the debate prove to be a game changer and put Poe back to the top position, or will Roxas surge to be number one after his debate performance? ABANGAN!
Meantime, watch The Filipino Channel’s Balitang America town hall, to be participated in by community leaders supporting each candidate. This will air on Sunday, May 1, at 5 pm.
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
