THE BATTLE BEGINS
Elections

THE BATTLE BEGINS

OpinYon surveys show tight race in local polls

Mar 21, 2022, 5:37 AM
Miguel Raymundo

Miguel Raymundo

Writer

This week, expect your summer to get more heated.

Starting March 25, candidates for local positions will start their official campaign to convince voters that they are the most qualified to lead their constituents for the next three years.

While not a hotspot for election-related violence, Laguna province has always been a focal point for both national and local positions.

For one, Laguna province is considered one of the most "vote-rich" provinces in the Philippines, ranking fourth with 2,045,687 registered voters for the 2022 elections.

Two, local politics in Laguna province has always been expectantly lively and heated, with huge campaign sorties, rampant propaganda operations (fake newspapers are already a common staple of elections in the province long before “fake news” became a household word) and reports of clandestine vote-buying.

According to political experts, this year’s elections is expected to become a “gamechanger” as the leaders voters will choose will lead the country – and the province – out of the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic impacts.

So where do our candidates in Laguna province – and on the national front – stand in public opinion?

Surprise results

This month, OpinYon Media Advocacies, Inc. started a series of informal surveys on social media to gauge the current choice of its followers in the run-up to the May 9 elections.

Some of the results came as a surprise, even contradicting the results of other surveys released by other survey outfits these past days.

For example, in the presidential race, Vice President Leni Robredo received the bulk of reactions on OpinYon Laguna’s presidential survey which started on February 14.

As of March 19, Robredo garnered over 3,200 reactions on OpinYon’s informal survey while her closest rival, former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., garnered only 97 reactions.

This comes as a surprise, considering that Marcos carried Laguna province in his bitterly-contested battle with Robredo for the vice-presidency in the 2016 elections.

Results of many suspect survey groups show Marcos leading over Robredo, while he is also perceived to have an allegedly "strong" following on social media networks.

However, given the huge campaign effort given by Robredo’s network of volunteers in the province, it’s not unlikely that the tides are about to turn in favor of the Vice President in the following days.

Meanwhile, the results of the vice-presidential surveys, which started last February 21 are hardly surprising.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio earned 29 reactions, followed by Robredo’s running mate, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, with 18 reactions.

OpinYon Laguna’s reporters have noted that the younger Duterte has garnered a much more positive response among local officials and supporters than Marcos during the “Uniteam’s” recent campaign sorties in the province.

Tight race

Meanwhile, in San Pedro City, OpinYon Laguna’s opinion polls show what could be a “close race” between Councilor Aaron Cataquiz and Vice Mayor Joseph “Art” Mercado.

As of March 19, Cataquiz is leading the survey with over 2,300 reactions, compared to 1,800 reactions for Mercado.

As for who will become the first representative of San Pedro City in Congress, results of the survey which started last March 2 showed Laguna 1st District Board Member Ann Matibag leading with 178 reactions, followed by former Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) President Dave Almarinez who got 84 reactions.

Incumbents leading

Meanwhile, in the cities of Biñan and Sta. Rosa, the incumbent administrations’ response to the Covid-19 pandemic may have a huge bearing on the people’s choice for the May 9 polls.

In Biñan City, where the current leadership’s “proactive” responses to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic attracted nationwide attention, incumbent Mayor Walfredo “Arman” Dimaguila, Jr. received 1,900 reactions in OpinYon’s survey started on March 7, while his nearest rival, Donna Yatco, received only 247 reactions.

Yatco has been the target of ridicule among Biñanenses after her camp allegedly began spreading “fake news” in what they have perceived was an attempt to diminish the efforts of the local government to give its outmost assistance to those who had been affected by the pandemic.

In Sta. Rosa City, incumbent Mayor Arlene Arcillas topped the informal survey started on March 10, receiving 27 reactions over independent candidate Joyce Kathlene Lee (23 reactions) and incumbent vice mayor Arnel Gomez (11 reactions).

Too early to tell

With the campaign period for local positions just starting this week, it is too early to tell whether these survey results will truly reflect in the final results of the elections.

There will be much to see in the intense two-month campaign for local positions whether which candidate really has the qualifications – and the courage – to solve the pressing problems of economic recovery and rehabilitation after the two-year pandemic.

As they say in basketball, a lot can happen in the last two minutes – and gauging from our experiences in past elections, the tides can still shift as we get to know our candidates more.


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