That January 2022 is coming to an end, for the more politically-inclined in the Philippines, means only one thing – the campaign period is finally drawing near (February 8 for national candidates and March 25 for local bets).
For the especially data-driven, it also means the regular release of preference polls and an easier, publicly-available means to gauge where candidates are and what they should do ahead of the May 9 elections.
Although Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of the late dictator, enjoyed a considerable lead in the December 2021 Pulse Asia electoral preference survey, the firm’s head Ronald Holmes said it’s still too early to tell.
The younger Marcos was top choice for 53% of respondents, trailed by Vice President Leni Robredo (20%) at a distant second.
“That’s a possibility that we can look at, but it may be a little more difficult to sustain this particular preference. It really depends on how the campaign would proceed. It also depends on the issues each of these candidates are confronting and how they would respond to these issues,” said Holmes on Wednesday, January 19, in an episode of On the Campaign Trail.
Rappler columnist John Nery had asked Holmes if it was possible for the country to have its first majority-elected president in the post-Marcos years.
“If the elections were held at that time, Marcos would have a majority win but we’ve seen…whatever is the lead, the share of the votes of the leader eventually declines and is reduced up to election day,...
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