Gordon wants survey commissioners named

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Richard Gordon said he would file a bill compelling survey firms to reveal who commissioned them for the sake of transparency and to avoid mental conditioning.

He noted that those who could afford to pay survey firms would normally get more favorable results.

“Survey is a form of manipulation. It makes us think or believe that respondents of these polls represent the voice of the people,” he said.

Gordon said pertinent information on the conduct of opinion polls, such as who commissioned it, how much was paid for it, what were the questions asked and how were the respondents selected, must be included in the publication and reportage of survey results.

He called for more transparency in the reportage of surveys of voting intentions so as not to unduly condition the public’s minds and confuse the Filipino electorate to vote based on mere popularity rather than on strong credibility and track record.

“We should have a policy on the publication and reportage of survey results even outside the election campaign period. In France, Australia and other countries, opinion poll results are not announced. In the US, they have stringent rules on publicizing surveys,” he said.

Gordon and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago expressed support for the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting’s call for the Filipino electorate to discern the core values of those eyeing the presidency and not be swayed by infomercials aimed to advance their political ambitions.

While he attacked other presidential hopefuls, Gordon, who is also eyeing the presidency, said his own commercials were not part of early campaigning because his advocacies were “legitimate.”

Gordon said he was paid for his soap commercial and his advertisements were in line with the Red Cross and his political party, Bagumbayan.

Gordon further asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to reformulate the current parameters against presidential aspirants’ premature campaigning disguised as advocacy commercials ahead of the election campaign period.

“What the PPCRV pronounced is just right. Why would we vote for a person who disregards the law? The Comelec must do something about this,” Gordon said during the regular Kapihan sa Senado media forum at the Senate.

Gordon said the proliferation of infomercials among politicians, especially those who had already announced their political plans for 2010, was obviously part of early campaigning and a deliberate act of circumventing the Fair Elections Law.

“Comelec is quibbling. That is already early campaigning. Campaigning is not the act of filing a certificate of candidacy. Campaigning is advertising not for a cause but for a cause to enhance your (political) position,” he said.

He said it was quite unfair for those with money who could go on advertising without limit to promote an image and whose expenses would not be accounted for until after they filed their certificates of candidacy.