Binay, Poe tied at No. 1, SWS: Chiz keeps lead in VP race

MANILA, Philippines - Five months before the 2016 elections, Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sen. Grace Poe were tied at the top spot in the latest presidential survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations Inc. (SWS) and newspaper BusinessWorld.

Based on the findings of the pre-election survey from Dec. 12 to 14, Binay and Poe both received 26 percent voter preference.

In the September SWS poll, Poe obtained 26 percent while Binay got 24 percent. Binay, standard-bearer of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), also topped the Pulse Asia December 2015 presidential survey.

Poe, who was disqualified from the race yesterday by the full Commission on Elections (Comelec), said she was humbled by the support and she remained a candidate.

Binay’s camp thanked the people for their support.

The BW-SWS survey had 1,200 respondents nationwide with sampling error margins of plus or minus three percentage points.

Administration standard-bearer Mar Roxas placed third with 22 percent – up from September’s 20 percent – followed by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte whose rating stayed at 20 percent.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s rating went up two points to four percent in December while OFW Family party-list Rep. Roy Señeres obtained zero vote.

The administration coalition expressed optimism that the survey numbers of Roxas would improve.

In the vice-presidential race, Sen. Francis Escudero retained his lead with a 30 percent voter preference. He got a 20 percent rating in September.

Liberal Party bet Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo and independent Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. were tied at second place with 19 percent each. Robredo’s score improved by seven points from 12 percent in September, while Marcos’ rating dropped by five points.

Robredo, whose score improved by 16 points, is elated by the results, saying her visits to the grassroots and the help she is getting from supporters and volunteers is paying off.

“The (survey) result is an early Christmas gift not only for me and my family, but also to all who tirelessly help me in this campaign. If not for them, my rise in the polls will not happen,” Robredo said.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who is running with Duterte, was closely tailing Robredo with 17 percent, down from September’s 21 percent.

Sen. Gregorio Honasan, Binay’s running mate, got eight percent while independent Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV had five percent.

The camp of Binay thanked the people for their continued support for him.

“The Vice President has exemplified that hard work and firm commitment to fight poverty will resonate well with the people,” Rico Quicho, Binay’s spokesman for political affairs, said. –With Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy