BBM maintains lead in SWS survey

By NEILL ANTONIO

Barely 11 weeks before the Filipino voters decide who would be the country’s next leader, polling firm Social Weather Station (SWS) came out with its latest survey results showing presidential candidate Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. still dominating the ratings and stamping his mark on the presidential race towards the May 2022 elections.

The latest SWS commissioned survey conducted from January 28 to 31 showed that Marcos enjoys a firm grip on the top spot and has even gained +7% net after increasing his numbers from 43% in October 2021 to 50% in January 2022.

At far second is Leni Robredo, who has only 19% to show, Francisco Domagoso Moreno and Manny Pacquiao were tied for 3rd and 4th respectively with 11% each, while Panfilo Lacson has 6%.

The rest of the presidential bets are lagging at the tail-end and struggling to gain respectable numbers.

Robredo recorded 20% in October but plunged down to 19% in January, which reflected a -1% fall.

In another SWS survey, Robredo’s net satisfaction rating also dropped drastically from 24% to just 1%, the lowest among government officials.

Considering the margin of error, it is understandable that there have been minimal changes in the results of the ratings of all the presidential candidates regardless of the movement of their respective numbers.

Political analysts said that Marcos’ numbers reflect strong ground support, “which seems unshakable in the run-off to the May elections.”

All reputable survey firms have recorded similar trends, but at least a couple of poll results from independent groups – Laylo Research Strategies and Tangere – showed that Marcos is even leading in Robredo’s traditional bailiwick, the Bicol Region.

Laylo’s result in Bicol from its January 2022 survey had Marcos leading with 51% as compared to Robredo’s 33%.

Marcos actually padded his lead from its November 2021 survey in the region, where he registered 45% against Robredo’s 29%.

Meanwhile, in a January 2022 survey conducted by Tangere, the country’s biggest online market research panel, Marcos led all presidential candidates in Bicol with 45.27% voters’ preference as compared to Robredo’s 25.57%.

Results from the nationwide Kalye Survey results put Marcos on top with his 60.30 percent, while Robredo barely scratched the surface with her 9.77%.