Marcos continues to top OCTA survey, Robredo posts strongest jump

Presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. continued to top the latest survey conducted by OCTA Research, with Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo registering the largest increase among the candidates.

Results of the Tugon ng Masa Survey conducted on April 2 to 6 showed that Marcos recorded 57% preference votes out of the 1,200 sample size with a ±3% margin of error.

The latest results indicate an increase from the 55% preference votes he recorded in the February 12 to 17 survey from the same institution.

Broken down per region, Marcos was said to have 35% preference votes in the National Capital Region, 66% in Balance Luzon, 56% in the Visayas region, and 50% in Mindanao.

In terms of socio-economic class, 51% of respondents in the ABC Class chose Marcos, 59% in Class D, and 44% in Class E.

Robredo followed with 22% preference among respondents across the country, marking a bigger jump of 7 percentage points from the 15% she recorded in February.

She recorded 25% preference in the National Capital Region, 21% in Balance Luzon, 23% in the Visayas, and 23% in Mindanao.

Robredo registered 28% preference in Class ABC, 20% in Class D, and 33% in Class E.

Marcos and Robredo were followed by Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso with 9% (from 11% in February), Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao with 7% (from 10%), and Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson with 4% (from 3%).

Trailing behind were former Palace Spokesperson Ernesto “Ernie” Abella with 1%, businessman Faisal Mangondato and labor leader Leody De Guzman with 0.1% each, and former Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales with 0.001%.

Some 1% of respondents did not give a categorical answer for their presidential choice. This includes 0.5% who said they still did not know and 0.008% who said they did not have a preference.

Domagoso, Lacson, and Gonzales earlier on Sunday held a press conference to reiterate that they will not back out of their respective presidential bids just weeks ahead of the May 9 national elections.

Domagoso also called on Robredo to withdraw her candidacy, saying she should make the “supreme sacrifice” as the second in survey results and have him “substitute.”

Robredo’s spokesperson Atty. Ibarra “Barry” Gutierrez responded by saying that the camp would instead focus on showing Filipinos that her presidential bid would translate to a victory.

“With three weeks to go before election day, we are at a time of great momentum for our People’s Campaign, and increasing clarity as regards which candidates can count on the people's support when they enter voting booths on May 9,” Gutierrez said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte remains at the top of the OCTA vice-presidential survey released Sunday with 57 percent of the respondents supporting  her bid.

Duterte was followed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III (23%), Senator Francis Pangilinan (12%), Dr. Willie Ong (7%), House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza (0.7%), and Manny Lopez (0.1%). — DVM, GMA News