TWO months before the May 2016 Philippine presidential elections, the Supreme Court of the Philippines has ruled that Sen. Grace Poe is eligible to run for the highest post of the nation. This throws out the disqualification cases filed by different parties that question whether Poe is a natural-born Filipino and meets the residency requirement.
Henceforth, it has been full swing campaigning for Poe, and her poll numbers prove she is now a strong contender for the presidency.
In the latest Pulse Asia survey commissioned by ABS-CBN from Feb. 16 to 27, Poe is now in a statistical tie scoring 26 percent against 24 percent for Binay, among registered voters who were asked who they would be voting for as president if the national elections were held during the survey period.
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte placed third with 22 percent, followed by former Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Manuel “Mar” A. Roxas II (19 percent), and Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago with a voter preference of 3 percent.
For the vice presidential race, the Pulse Asia poll revealed Senators Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. and Francis “Chiz” Escudero share the lead, each getting 26 percent of registered voters.
In third place was Camarines Sur Representative Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo with 18 percent, followed by Senator Alan Peter S. Cayetano with 13 percent; Senators Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II with 6 percent; and Antonio Trillanes IV with 5 percent.
It seems the anointed candidates of President Benigno Aquino III — Roxas and Robredo — will have to work harder in winning the trust and confidence of the Filipino people and showing that they are the most qualified candidates with the right character, leadership, vision and platform to build on the reported gains and achievements of the Aquino administration.
Why aren’t they polling better, considering the all out support coming from the Aquino administration?
Do these poll results reflect your own preference for president and vice president? What are you doing to campaign for those whom you think will lead the country toward progress, peace and order?
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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
