ONE good thing about Philippine presidential elections for one reason or another is that they always bring a different level of excitement, suspense and unpredictability.
With little over six months to go before the actual elections on May 9, 2022, the political sword fights will only continue to be more intense.
The propaganda skirmishes will intensify as the camps of all declared presidential aspirants will surely devise ways, legal or otherwise just to earn the support of the public, and consequently demolish their opponents.
But amid all the noise brought by the coming elections, over at the survey front one development keeps popping up.
Surveys
It’s that Bongbong Marcos has been topping all surveys, much to the chagrin of the so-called civil society members who claim to be the real opposition to the incumbent Duterte administration.
In one of the latest surveys conducted by Publicus Asia which was released over a week ago, Marcos just like in previous polls conducted by other groups that include Manila Bulletin and even the avowed opposition Rappler, emerged as the runaway winner.
It appeared that Marcos got a total presidential preference vote of 49.3 percent in the Publicus survey followed by incumbent Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo with 21.3 percent.
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno had 8.8 percent, Panfilo "Ping" Lacson with 2.9 percent, and Sen. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao with 2.8 percent.
Real time, real people
Interestingly, Marcos also dominated the so-called real people and real time Kalye Surveys conducted by different vloggers in various parts of Metro Manila and in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon from October 1 to 11.
Of the total 2,137 respondents, 1,307 expressed their preference for Marcos. Moreno came second, with 345; while Robredo placed third with 231.
The results for the four others were: Pacquiao, 125; Lacson, 89; and Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, 23.
Landslide
What was also so disappointing among the rabid anti-Marcos groups was that in the recent Facebook polls by broadsheet Manila Bulletin and online news site Rappler, Bongbong also won by a landslide.
The Manila Bulletin's Facebook online presidential survey conducted from October 15 to 17, generated over 800,000 reactions from netizens who were asked to vote by using the assigned emoji for their preferred candidates.
It was a no-contest after Marcos garnered 655,000 "heart" emojis, followed by Robredo with 216,000 "care" emojis and Domagoso with 33,000 "like" emojis as they ended up as the top three preferred presidential candidates for the 2022 polls.
In the Rappler poll, which was terminated amid another Marcos surge for obvious reasons, he got more than half the clicks, also leaving second-place Robredo in the dust.
No guarantee?
These results have been confounding political observers with some obvious anti-Marcos declaring that surveys do not always guarantee a winner in the actual polls, citing President Digong in 2010 who did not figure prominently until few weeks leading to the actual elections day.
But they failed to mention former Presidents Joseph Estrada in 1998 and Benigno Aquino III in 2010, who both led the surveys from start to finish.
Pied Piper Manny
Curiously however, while Marcos was consistently topping the pre-election polls, Sen. Manny Pacquiao was actually the one drawing huge crowds in his ‘gift-giving’ sorties.
From Luzon to Visayas and Mindanao, Manny is like a Pied Piper that wherever he goes, throngs of people also follow him prompting many local officials and police to complain that the required health protocols were not being observed.
Charitable
It maybe because Manny was actually giving away goodies and cash which make people come to him, but those interviewed by media confess that they support the senator because they can identify with him.
They reason that just like them, Manny came from a poor family thus, he knows of their sufferings and what are needed to be done to help them.
The truth is long before Manny aspired for the presidency and was still winning his boxing bouts, he was always known to have a charitable and giving heart that actually endeared him to his kababayans throughout the country.
Indeed, we are living in uncertain times and the coming elections will prove to be a litmus test for all of us Filipinos if we have already matured as citizens of a democratic country or we are still politically immature and still living in a democrazy nation.
Only time will tell!