Drilon: Latest SWS poll confirms upward trend for Roxas

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon said that the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing Mar Roxas zooming past Vice President Jejomar Binay as the public's preferred next president is a strong indication of an upward trend for the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate, buoyed by President Aquino’s “tuwid na daan” leadership.

“The spike in Roxas’ rating shows that President Aquino's endorsement power remains critical and cannot be ignored. It likewise shows that the public's appreciation for the administration's ‘tuwid na daan’ reform policies should not be underestimated,” said Drilon.

"The rising momentum in the poll ratings of Roxas just shows that more and more Filipinos believe in what President Aquino said: Roxas is the best-suited leader to continue and improve on the achievements already made under the present administration,” Drilon stressed.

He noted that President Aquino continues to enjoy the highest public approval ratings in comparison to the preceding Arroyo, Estrada, Ramos and Cory Aquino administrations, and that his endorsement remains a pivotal factor in the next presidential elections.

In the recent SWS poll, Aquino got a positive 41 net satisfaction rating, which is the highest rating ever received by an incumbent official  who is in his or her final year in office. In the same period during their respective administrations, Arroyo got a negative 38%, Estrada received a positive 19%, while Ramos and Cory Aquino got positive 35% and +10%, respectively.

In interpreting the survey, the Senate chief said that it is very important to look at the trends rather than to look at one survey: “As I have always said, you have to look at the trend. What is the emerging trend in the last two, three or four surveys.”

The SWS September 2015 survey, which shows Roxas taking the biggest and most significant increase by 18 percentage points, shows a continuing upward trend in Roxas’ electoral strength, said Drilon.

Over the last four SWS surveys, Drilon said Roxas’ ratings showed gradual but steady increases, from 19% in November 2014 to 39% in September 2015.

Drilon previously attributed Roxas’ poor showing in earliest surveys to Roxas’ reluctance to announce his candidacy.

But now that Roxas announced his candidacy and with the strong backing from President Aquino, Drilon said they can expect Roxas’ numbers to continue to rise in the coming months. 

Meanwhile, Drilon said that the survey is clear that the corruption allegations against Binay have started to take a toll on his candidacy, as shown by the continued decline in his ratings.

Lastly, Drilon believes that the survey’s margin of error of plus-or-minus three percentage points makes the five percent increase in Poe’s rating, from 42% in June 2015 to 47% in September 2015, “insignificant.” – END -