THE tandem of former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio dominated an online survey poll conducted by a Davao-based research group regarding the presidential and vice presidential preferences of Filipinos nationwide.
The online survey, initiated by the University of Mindanao Institute of Popular Opinion (UM-IPO), released on January 2, showed Marcos and Duterte-Carpio as the top presidential and vice presidential bets for the May 2022 national elections.
"The University of Mindanao Institute of Popular Opinion conducted an online survey from December 21 to 28, 2021, involving Filipino social media users from different regions of the Philippines relative to their preference for the two highest positions of the country," the UM-IPO release stated.
The survey conducted from December 21 to 28, 2021, showed 44.61 percent of votes were for Marcos while his runningmate Duterte-Carpio earned 52.65 percent of votes.
On the other hand, Marcos' rival, current Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo, came in second with 25.51 percent, while her running mate, Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan also followed after Duterte-Carpio, garnering 26.54 percent.
The results also determined that Marcos and Duterte-Carpio had the highest votes in Mindanao, while the Robredo-Pangilinan tandem was leading in Visayas.
According to UM-IPO, their survey heavily relied on online and targeted social media users, specifically from Facebook and Instagram.
The online poll had a total of 1,199 respondents who were at least 18 years old and residing in select areas of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
"Quality checks were also established to avoid possible online trolling, leaving a total of 1,199 respondents (at a 95-percent confidence level and +/-3 percent margin of error)," said UM-IPO.
Meanwhile, in the same survey, Manila City Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso came in third with 14.73 percent of votes, Senator Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao garnered 3.17 percent, and Panfilo "Ping" Lacson earned 0.77 percent.
For the rest of the respondents, 10.10 percent were undecided, while 1.11 percent answered that their candidate is not on the given list.
UM-IPO said a tandem vote is likely to happen in the May 2022 elections.
"A further inferential analysis from the survey also proved two essential points: (i) tandem vote is more likely in the May 2022 elections, and (ii) regional bailiwicks could land political aspirants to these top positions," the research group said.