Duterte, Bongbong pull away in Pulse

After leading the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte also topped the new poll conducted by Pulse Asia on presidential preference.

The tough-talking mayor took the solo lead with 30 percent, based on the March 29-April 3 survey of Pulse Asia commissioned by ABS-CBN.

Independent candidate Sen. Grace Poe was in second spot with 25 percent.

United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) bet Vice President Jejomar Binay and Liberal Party (LP) candidate Manuel Roxas II are statistically tied for third place with 20 percent and 19 percent, respectively.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago remained at the

bottom with two percent.

The survey used face-to-face interviews of 4,000 registered voters nationwide. It has an error margin of plus or minus 1.5 percent.

Duterte’s rating improved by six points from 24 percent in Pulse Asia’s March 15-20 poll, which was also commissioned by ABS-CBN.

Poe, on the other hand, suffered a three-point drop from 28 percent in the previous survey.

Binay also lost three points, while Roxas’ rating was unchanged.

Santiago’s rating was the same as her March 15-20 score.

VP race

Meanwhile, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., runningmate of Santiago, again snatched the lead from Sen. Francis Escudero, garnering 28 percent, up from 25 percent in the March 15-20 poll.

Escudero, runningmate of Poe, and LP candidate Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo are now statistically tied for second place with 22 percent each.

Escudero’s score fell three points from 25 percent previously, while Robredo’s rating improved by a point.

Duterte’s runningmate, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, placed fourth with 15 percent, followed by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, an independent candidate, with five percent and Sen. Gringo Honasan II of UNA with four percent.

Cayetano and Trillanes saw a point increase in their scores.

Honasan’s rating fell from five percent.

Marcos also took the solo lead in the March 30- April 2 poll of the SWS with 26 percent.

Duterte vowed to work hard in the remaining days of the campaign to maintain his lead.

His campaign manager, Maribojoc Mayor Jun Evasco, yesterday said they are humbled by the rise in the Davao mayor’s survey ratings, but acknowledged that the fight is not yet over.

“We will continue to build on this momentum and aim for a complete, decisive and indisputable victory,” Evasco said.

Still optimistic

Roxas, meanwhile, remains optimistic that he would emerge victorious in the upcoming election.

“I remain convinced that we are ahead in this fight,” Roxas told reporters yesterday in a press conference in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental.

When asked why the support of his local machinery was not reflected in the survey, Roxas replied: “The local campaign has just started. You have seen earlier the expression of support by all barangay captains, kagawads, congressmen and mayors.”

Core groups fired up

The camp of Binay remains unfazed by the latest Pulse Asia survey.

“The Vice President will continue to persevere to touch the hearts and minds of the people that his pro-poor programs will effectively uplift their lives,” said UNA campaign spokesman Rico Quicho.

“Our core and volunteer groups are all fired up to work for the victory of the Vice President,” he added.