One in every two Filipinos believes that should Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. or Vice President Leni Robrero win the presidency, it will mark the return of traditional politics (trapo) in the Philippines.
Furthermore, 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 either of the frontrunners win in the coming elections.
These were some key insights from the non-commissioned nationwide survey conducted by Tangere, an award-winning team that provides real-time actionable market insights, for both the private and public sector, by leveraging on technology, big data analytics and its 600,000-strong Ka-Tangere online community.
“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 Roxas in 2016,” Martin Peñaflor, CEO and founder of Tangere, said.
Peñaflor pointed out that of the 1,200 respondents from National Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, it showed a significant number of the respondents, or two in five, do not expect improvement in their lives if either Marcos or Robredo wins in the elections.
“This is turning out to be a cynical election,” Peñaflor described the findings of their survey. “We have two leading candidates that are seen by many as traditional politicians where the poorest don’t believe inequality will be addressed and where many of the voters feel like even if their candidate is elected, it is still better to leave the country.”
The survey showed that nearly two in 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.
“It is ironic that the poorest sector of the economy distrustful of the election early frontrunners considering that both supposedly champion the poor,” Peñaflor said. “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 (Francisco `Isko’) Moreno (Dumagoso) and (Emmanuel) Pacquiao.”
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 added.
In addition, two out of five Filipinos welcomed the idea of leaving the Philippines for a better country due to the predominance of traditional politicians.
Unsurprisingly, two out of five Filipinos would want their children timigrate 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 kontribusion sa bansa lalo na nitong pandemic. ‘Di ko s’ya ramdam.”
(His father is a known for his intelligence and a great strategist. However, I have no knowledge regarding BBM’s great contribution for the country, especially during the pandemic. I don’t feel him.)
While another female from the National Capital Region, aged between 36 and 50 said BBM has no track record in extending assistance to the Filipino.
“’Di tumutulong sa mahihipa na Pilipino. Walang kumpletong plataporma. Hindi nakatapos ng abogasya o ekomista,” the respondent said.
The Tangere survey was conducted on December 13 involving NCR, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The group plans to conduct a series of election surveys that focuses 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.
“This is the reason why Tangere is starting a deeper, less partisan public conversations about the public wants from our leaders and to let them know how the people feels about what they are offering,” Peñaflor adds.
Peñaflor said that today’s media briefing is just the first of many more Tangere surveys and briefings that will focus on the voice of the online Filipino.
