News Roundup 07 April 2022
Apr 07, 2022 • 5 min Read
Pulse Asia: Marcos keeps lead, but Robredo narrows gap | INQUIRER.NET – Presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has retained a big lead in the latest survey conducted by Pulse Asia ahead of the May 9 elections, but the rating of Vice President Leni Robredo has picked up significantly across all regions and income classes covered by the opinion poll. Voter preference for Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the late dictator, dropped to 56 percent from 60 percent in the previous Pulse Asia surveys in January and February, while Robredo’s support jumped to 24 percent from 15 percent the month before. Pulse Asia’s Ulat ng Bayan face-to-face survey of 2,400 people was conducted between March 17 and 21, when official campaigning was underway. At least two presidential debates, both of which Marcos Jr. skipped, also took place during the period. Marcos Jr. and Robredo were trailed by Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso (8 percent), Sen. Manny Pacquiao (6 percent) and Sen. Panfilo Lacson (2 percent). Other presidential candidates included in the poll were Faisal Mangondato (1 percent), former presidential spokesperson Ernie Abella (0.1 percent), cardiologist Jose Montemayor Jr. (0.05 percent), labor leader Leody de Guzman (0.02 percent), and Norberto Gonzales who got zero vote. Marcos Jr.’s running mate, Sara Duterte, daughter of President Duterte, remained the top choice for vice president with 56-percent support, while Senate President Vicente Sotto III was second with 20 percent. Between February and March, the rating of Marcos Jr. went down in all areas and socioeconomic classes, with the highest decrease recorded in Mindanao (to 62 percent from 68 percent) and among Class E respondents (to 52 percent from 58 percent).
Pacquiao says remarks on De Lima case carry no weight| INQUIRER.NET – Presidential bet Manny Pacquiao on Thursday said that his opinions on the case of detained Senator Leila De Lima were worthless and that only the court could determine her guilt or innocence. “Ako wala naman akong personal sa aking kasama si Senator Leila De Lima. Ang gusto ko nga mapabilis ang trial, kawawa naman siya kung hindi totoo ang mga paratang sa kanya. eh matagal na siya sa kulungan,” the senator said in a statement. (I have nothing personal against my colleague Senator Leila De Lima. What I really want is to speed up the trial, it is unfortunate if the allegations against her are not true. She’s been in jail for a long time.) “Talking about evidence, hindi natin kailangan pakialaman kasi ang mga abugado ang nakakaalam niyan. Gusto ko ipa-expedite na lang trial. Kasi kung hindi talaga totoo, eh ilan taon na ang binuno niya sa kulungan,” he added. (Talking about evidence, we don’t need to interfere because it’s the lawyers who know things about that. I just want to expedite the trial. Because if it’s not really true, she’s been in prison for several years.) Pacquiao maintained that during the debate, he was merely relaying what Dayan told him and that “ultimately it is the court that would decide on her fate.” “Sa totoo lang naawa rin ako sa kanya. Gusto ko nga pabilisin ang kaso kasi matagal na. Pero ang problema ng judicial system natin dito, talagang mabagal. Dahil kulang sa budget at kulang sa mga husgado,” the world boxing champion-turned-politican pointed out. (I honestly feel sorry for her, too. I actually want to speed up the case because it’s been a long time. But the problem of our judicial system here is, that it’s really slow. Because of inadequate budget and lack of courts.)
More than House seat: Mags Maglana wants a Davao with a choice, and richer discourse | PHILSTAR.COM – The glass walls of development worker and aspiring congresswoman Maria Victoria “Mags” Maglana’s office in Davao City are filled with scribbles: Of communities they must still visit, concerns they need to discuss, and issues to bring to the miting de avance. On the other side of the wall is a map of Davao del Norte, where they chart their way through their communities. Sporting her signature single long braid swept to the side of her face and carrying a slew of rainbow-colored masks, cuffs and flags, Magalana told Philstar.com that when she filed her Certificate of Candidacy last October that, of course, she wants to win. “Somebody asked, and said, ‘what is this, are we just trying? Are we just making a point?’” But as a neophyte candidate, Maglana is certain: “I want to win now. I think there is a very distinct window of opportunity provided by the May 2022 elections that is different from other elections.” She did not expound but others have said that the coming elections come with the highest stakes: The world is grappling with the pandemic, the Philippines has a trail of blood all over from the administration’s drug war, and a dictator’s son is on the rise to the highest seat of the land. Maglana is one of the three opponents of incumbent Rep. Paolo “Polong” Duterte (Davao City), whose family boasts of a generation-old hold on the southern city. But she said her running is not her directly going against the president’s son. “It just so happened that we are both running [for the post]. By the way, there are two others vying for the spot… It just happened that we ae running at the same time and we are asking for support of voters,” she said. As the day bleeds into early night, a few of Magalana’s volunteers at their headquarters stay to pack campaign materials for their next sorties. It was a Tuesday, just five days since the start of campaign season for local elections and their work stretched out before them. Maglana is not blind to the reality that she is up against someone with an established machinery. More than that, she is trying to woo voters who, for a generation, “only know one dominant family name in terms of political leadership.” Of course, name recall will not work for her, Maglana admitted. “We cannot copy the playbook of traditional politicians. Because if we will copy in terms of machinery and money, no one can beat them: They wrote that playbook; they perfected it,” she said.
