(Photo courtesy of PCO)
MANILA – Malacañang on Wednesday brushed aside the latest presidential preference survey showing a narrowing gap between Vice President Sara Duterte and former vice president Leni Robredo, saying President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. remains focused on addressing pressing national concerns rather than the 2028 elections.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said election surveys are not among the administration’s priorities, emphasizing that the government has more urgent matters to address with about 18 months remaining before the next presidential polls.
Among the President’s immediate concerns are preparations for the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, the effects of the very strong El Niño phenomenon, the ongoing Middle East crisis and other issues affecting Filipinos.
“Marami pa pong dapat na iresolba ang gobyerno para sa ating mga kababayan at hindi nagpo-focus sa survey kung sino ang lumalamang at hindi lumalamang,” Castro said during a Palace press briefing.
She stressed that survey results should not be treated as the final indication of the outcome of an election that is still more than a year away.
“So, hindi pa naman botohan. Makikita naman natin ang pinakaresulta nito sa botohan mismo,” she added.
Castro made the remarks when asked about the latest Tugon ng Masa survey conducted by OCTA Research, which showed Duterte receiving 40 percent support against Robredo’s 33 percent in a hypothetical head-to-head contest for the 2028 presidential election.
The results placed Duterte seven percentage points ahead of Robredo, although the Palace maintained that the administration was not concerned with the standing of potential presidential candidates.
Meanwhile, Castro was also asked whether developments in Duterte’s ongoing impeachment proceedings could have affected voter preferences reflected in the survey.
She declined to link the impeachment trial directly to the survey results, stressing instead that accountability and the establishment of facts should remain priorities regardless of political developments.
“May impeachment man o walang impeachment, dapat ilabas ang katotohanan at kung meron dapat na panagutan, panagutan ito,” Castro said.
The Palace maintained that the government would continue concentrating on its responsibilities, including preparations for major international engagements and responses to domestic and global challenges.
Castro reiterated that the actual outcome of the 2028 presidential race would ultimately be determined by voters on election day, rather than by early preference surveys.
