Survey says candidates showing up in debates likely to win

Original Story: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNews.htm?f=/2010/january/4/news2.isx&d=/2010/january/4


POLITICAL party affiliations are unimportant to almost all Filipino voters, but most of them consider it very important for their chosen presidential candidate to participate in public debates and discussions, the latest survey commissioned by Standard Today shows.

The face-to-face survey of 2,500 respondents nationwide, conducted Dec. 6 to 12, show that 97 percent do not identify with any political party, but 80 percent believe it is important that their presidential candidate take part in debates and forums.

“Trust in political parties remains mediocre despite high awareness levels,” Pedro Laylo, Standard Today’s resident pollster, said. “At best, a third [of the respondents] say they trust the Liberal Party and the Partido ng Masang Pilipino party.”

Still, 22 percent said they had little trust in the Liberal Party and 24 percent said they felt the same way about the Partido ng Masang Pilipino.

While 28 percent trusted the Nacionalista Party and the Nationalist People’s Coalition, 25 percent and 24 percent, respectively, did not, the survey, with a plus-minus 2-percentage points margin of error, showed. Twenty-seven percent trusted the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

And 74 percent of those polled in the latest Standard Today survey said there was no prominent personality whose influence was strong enough to swing their votes.

Of those who mentioned celebrities, 8 percent cited Kris Aquino, 5 percent noted Willie Revillame, and 2 percent referred to Korina Sanchez. One percent named Senator Francis Escudero.

Mayors and village captains would be able to influence only about 1 percent of the voters, the survey showed.

Nationwide, 62 percent said it was very important that their presidential candidate participated in public discussions or debates. Twenty-four percent more said this was somewhat important, with only 3 percent saying it was unimportant.

In Metro Manila, 92 percent said it was important for their choice of presidential candidate to take part in debates.

Interviewed in person for the Dec. 6 to 12 poll were 2,500 registered voters nationwide, with 300 respondents in Metro Manila, 555 in Northern and Central Luzon, 540 in South Luzon and Bicol, 505 in the Visayas and 600 in Mindanao, reflecting the latest proportion of registered voters based on data from the Commission on Elections as of October 2009.


Original Story: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNews.htm?f=/2010/january/4/news2.isx&d=/2010/january/4