AFTER DROPPING TO 2ND Poe now says survey results “inconclusive”

by Chito A. Fuentes

After falling from her perch as survey front-runner in Metro Manila, Sen. Grace Poe is no longer impressed with Pulse Asia.

According to an Inquirer report, Poe’s camp called the latest survey placing her in second place behind Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte “inconclusive” and “not reflective” of the sentiments of the country.

Duterte gains and leads in all classes in topping the latest polls in Metro Manila, where election winners traditionally win the whole country as well.

Prior to the latest survey conducted last Nov. 11-12, Poe consistently topped the voters’ preference. She never called those surveys “inconclusive”.

It was also not clear why the Poe camp said it was “not reflective” of the sentiments of the country when Pulse Asia was categorical that it was the result only of the survey in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Poe’s spokesperson, Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian, also claimed the survey was released by Duterte’s camp.

The survey results was bannered by the Inquirer in its Thursday issue and was also given prominent treatment by ABS-CBN’s online edition.

Both the Inquirer and ABS-CBN made no mention of the Duterte camp as the source of their reports.

Sought for comment, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III denied that it was the PDP-Laban that commissioned the survey saying the party “had no budget to commission the survey.”

“Hindi ko alam. Basta ang PDP-Laban hindi nagco-commission, wala kaming pera,” Pimentel was quoted in an Inquirer report.

In the same survey, Sen. Chiz Escudero, Poe’s running-mate, remained on top, towing Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Alan Peter Cayetano who came in second and third.

Valenzuela did not say if the Poe camp had the same comment for the results in the vice-presidential survey.

The survey was conducted before Duterte announced that he was running for president.

Political rivals had predicted an uphill fight for Duterte in the NCR because he is from Mindanao which has not yet produced a president.

Duterte, however, might yet prove these predictions wrong.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey, 34% of the respondents said they would vote for Duterte, up from 27% in September.

Duterte topped the ABC and D classes, while trailing Binay only by one point among voters in the E class.

In contrast, Poe fell to 26% from 31 in September.

Binay dropped from 26 to 22 while Roxas slid farther from 13 to 11 in the same period.

Duterte’s numbers are expected to rise significantly in his bailiwicks in Mindanao, Central and Eastern Visayas buoyed by his strong showing in NCR.

With this development, Duterte continues to baffle experts in what promises to be the most unconventional presidential election ever in the country’s history. (CHITO A. FUENTES)