One in every two Filipinos believe that should Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. or Vice President Leni Robredo win the presidency in the May 2022 elections, it will mark the return of traditional politics in the Philippines, a non-commissioned nationwide survey conducted by digital research group, Tangere, said.
The survey claimed there is a growing sentiment of hopelessness among Filipinos and a big number of them are thinking of leaving the Philippines for a better country if Marcos or Robredo win in the 2022 presidential race.
“More than half of the respondents, at 52 percent, believe that the existence of Marcos-Leni and/or Liberal Party can be considered as a comeback to traditional politics. This belief is driven by NCR residents and those who voted for (Mar) Roxas in 2016,” Martin Peñaflor, chief executive officer and founder of Tangere, said.
Peñaflor pointed out that, of the 1,200 respondents from the National Capital Region, Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao, a significant number, or two in five, do not expect improvement in their lives if either Marcos or Robredo wins in the elections.
The survey claimed that nearly two of five Filipinos, particularly those in the Class E income bracket, or the less fortunate, are driving the disbelief that BBM and/or Leni can reduce inequality.
“A surprising 51 percent of the respondents agree that Leni and BBM are more focused on fighting each other, and are looking for alternative leaders, who will champion their interest as shown in the research for their preference towards Moreno and Pacquiao.”
MIGRATION
Channeling their hopelessness in the country’s political system dominated by traditional politicians and feuding families, two of five Filipinos said it would be better to leave the country to settle or work elsewhere regardless of who will win the presidency between BBM and Leni.
“This belief is driven by the Visayas residents,” the survey claimed.
In addition, two of five Filipinos welcome the idea of leaving the Philippines for a better country due to the predominance of traditional politicians.
Unsurprisingly, two of five Filipinos would want their children migrate elsewhere in a Leni or BBM victory.
Asked if they believe Marcos Jr. is as strong a leader as his father, 30 percent of the respondents said “No”.
A female respondent, aged between 18 and 25, commented, “Ang ama n’ya ay tunay na matalino at magaling na strategist. Si BBM ay wala akong alam na matinding kontribusyon sa bansa lalo na nitong pandemic. ‘Di ko s’ya ramdam.”
Another female from the NCR, aged between 36 and 50, said BBM has no track record in extending assistance to the Filipino.
“’Di tumutulong sa mahihirap na Pilipino. Walang kumpletong plata-porma. Hindi nakatapos ng abogasya o ekomista,” the respondent said.
The Tangere survey was conducted Dec. 13, involving NCR, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The group plans to conduct a series of election surveys that will focus on discovering the voters’ sentiments.
Peñaflor said that they have seen how misunderstandings about how we see things leads to vilification and divisive good vs. evil ranting that hide what we are really feeling about the state of our country and what we really want from our leaders. — PR Martin Penaflor,
