Sunday, 24 April 2016

Duterte widens lead; Robredo zooms to No. 1, tied with Marcos - SWS

MANILA, Philippines - Despite drawing flak over his rape joke involving an Australian lay minister killed in a 1989 prison riot, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has pulled away in the presidential race, according to the latest BusinessWorld-Social Weather Stations (SWS) pre-election survey.

Duterte widens lead; Robredo zooms to No. 1, tied with Marcos

The survey which used sample size of 1,800 validated voters, conducted from April 18-20 (with sampling error margins of ±2 points) revealed that Duterte's voter preference rating rise to 33%. In the previous survey held on March 30-April 2, he had 27% rating.

The Davao City Mayor's spokesperson Peter Tiu Laviña told BusinessWorld “this is most encouraging result given that the black propaganda against Duterte intensified during this period.”

“This only affirms the strong clamor of our people for genuine change. Duterte has become a rallying symbol for all classes -- poor, middle and rich -- long fed up with ‘trapos’ messing up our country. We shall make use of the support of our people as inspiration to ensure their victory on May 9,” Mr. Laviña said in a text message, using the Filipino word for “rag” that has been adopted to refer to “traditional politicians”.

Erstwhile frontrunner Sen. Grace Poe got 24% voter preference rating, up one percentage point from previous poll.

Liberal Party's standard bearer Mar Roxas secured the third spot while Vice-President Jejomar Binay dropped to fourth place with 14%.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago is still in fifth place with 2%.

Duterte pulls away in the latest SWS survey.
Duterte pulls away in the latest SWS survey. Photo Credit: BusinessWorldOnline

Robredro, Marcos tied for VP

The widow of the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo has gained significant numbers as compared to the previous poll.

Leni Robredo zoomed to the top spot garnering 26% of votes, up by seven percent and in statistical tie with Senator Bongbong Marcos with 25%.

Sen. Francis Escudero dropped to third place with 18%, followed by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano with 16%.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV received 5%, while Sen. Gregorio Honasan II has a 2% voter preference rating.

Senatorial race

The same survey also showed that reelectionist Senate President Franklin M. Drilon (LP) and Senator Vicente C. Sotto III (Nationalist People’s Coalition) are still in the running for the top two seats in the Senate out of the 12 up for grabs on May 9 polls.

Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao managed to get the third spot, followed by Francis Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Risa Hontiveros, Leila de Lima, Joel Villanueva, Sergio Osmena III, and Richard Gordon.

Reelectionist Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph G. Recto (LP) is tied at 12th-13th place with Valenzuela City 1st District Rep. Sherwin T. Gatchalian (NPC).

PGT 5 Semis Results: UA Mindanao, Amazing Pyra advance to the Grand Finals

MANILA, Philippines - Motocross performers UA Mindanao and fire dancer Amazing Pyra managed to advance to the grand finals of Pilipinas Got Talent (PGT) Season 5 as announced during the third weekly results night on Sunday, April 24, 2016.

UA Mindanao, Amazing Pyra advance to the Grand Finals

UA Mindanao who amazed the judges on their stunts, got the highest percentage of votes, a whooping 45.12%, automatically sending them to the grand finals.

The 20-year old dancer from Antipolo City on the other hand has received the judges' votes after Vice Ganda, Freddie M. Garcia and Angel Locsin picked him for the next round slot. Judge Robin Padilla has voted for light performance dance group F.A. Flow Circle.

Amazing Pyra and UA Mindanao bested other semi-finalists Flairtending Duo "Liquid Concepts," light performance dance group F.A. Flow Circle, Legendary Fire Artists and Likhain Dance Troupe.

Hosted by Luis Manzano and Billy Crawford, "Pilipinas Got Talent" airs Saturdays after "Home Sweetie Home" and Sundays after "Wansapanataym."

Do you agree with the results of third PGT 5 semi-finals week?

FULL VIDEO REPLAY: Comelec-ABS-CBN 3rd PiliPinas Debates 2016

MANILA, Philippines - All five candidates have attended the third and final presidential debate dubbed as "PiliPinas Debates 2016" at the Phinma-University of Pangasinan in Dagupan City on Sunday, April 24, 2016. The full video replay of this townhall debate courtesy of ABS-CBN is available on this page.

Photo Credit: Manila Bulletin
Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Grace Poe, and former Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas battled for the last time in the Luzon leg of the PiliPinas 2016 Debate series.

WATCH: Here's the full video replay of PiliPinas Debates 2016 (video courtesy of ABS-CBN).


Issues that were tackled in the debate include metro traffic and public transport, job security, health, foreign policy, basic public education, OFW concerns, and peace for Mindanaoans in conflict areas.

In the “Face-Off” round, candidates were given a chance to pose questions to a fellow candidate. In the Fast Talk segment, presidential bets gave their quick opinion and answer on some relevant issues.

ABS-CBN, Manila Bulletin, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) have partnered to set the final showdown of Presidential Town Hall Debate series two weeks before the May 9 elections.

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said he hoped the event will become a regular addition in future elections. “It will now become a tradition that will also be observed in succeeding elections,” Bautista said.

“The Dagupan debate is the most proximate to the election day and I am sure whatever will transpire will have more influence in the minds of the voters,” KBP Board Chairman Herman Basbaño said.

On February 21, the first run of the debate series held at Cagayan de Oro City was organized by GMA-7. On March 20, TV5 staged the debate at the University of the Philippines (UP)-Cebu. The latter became controversial due to misunderstanding of rules between a candidate and TV5.

Who do you think won the third and final #PiliPinasDebates2016? Express your thoughts in the comment section below.