Sara on presidential run: COVID-19 might get me

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The May 2022 presidential race is still far away and remains uncertain due to the COVID pandemic, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said yesterday when asked to comment on survey results showing her leading other contenders to the presidency.

Carpio said she does not even know if she would still be around tomorrow as COVID might get her any time.

She said everyone should be thankful to wake up every day as that alone is a blessing.

“2022 is still far away, but I don’t know if I can even be here in October because COVID-19 might get me already. There isn’t anything definite in this time of a pandemic,” she said in Cebuano and English in her weekly radio program.

The filing of certificates of candidacy for those running for president, vice president and other national positions will start in October.

Carpio brushed aside survey results showing her consistently leading other supposed presidential candidates for the May 2022 elections.

The latest survey of Pulse Asia showed Carpio on top at 27 percent while others were far behind.

Name recall

Name recall has boosted the rankings of Carpio and other personalities in the recent pre-election surveys, a political analyst said yesterday.

“I think what’s driving most of the voting pre-election preference at this point has really been name recall. It’s not so much their record because they have not in any way disseminated this record,” Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes said in an interview on ANC.

“Some people know what they have done, but for many it is really the name that is the basis of their decision,” Holmes said.

Carpio led 13 probable presidential aspirants based on the latest pre-election survey by Pulse Asia, garnering 27 percent voter preference.

The nationwide poll was conducted from Feb. 22 to March 3, using face-to-face interviews of 2,400 respondents. – Helen Flores