Elections 2016 is just around the corner and survey companies are conducting popularity polls to determine preferences of Filipino voters. The latest release of Social Weather Station shows Senator Grace Poe leading the Presidential contest. DILG Secretary Mar Roxas and Vice President Jejomar Binay also placed prominently. There is an ETHICAL ISSUE in the survey because the SWS top honcho, Mahar Kelly Mangahas, is a first COUSIN of Fernando Kelly Poe Jr., the father of Senator Poe. Mahar Mangahas is, therefore, an UNCLE of Grace Poe. DELICADEZA dictates that such affinity should make the survey firm INHIBIT itself in conducting polls where a CLOSE RELATIVE is involved. At the very least there should be a DISCLOSURE portion in the press release so as to inform the public that a  CONFLICT of INTEREST SITUATION is present and thus should be taken into consideration in the interpretation of the survey results.

Aside from the ETHICAL and MORALITY ISSUE, there is a big question on the METHODOLOGY in the latest survey. Interviewees could name a maximum of three choices. In a field of dozens of candidates, three may be considered as PRUDENT, but in a race where only three (four if you count Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte) are prominently mentioned, then what is the point of conducting the survey at all. Considering that the constituency and base voters of both Poe and Roxas are the same, then both benefited from a double or triple vote on the part of the person choosing his/her preferences. It would have been more informative if ONLY ONE candidate could be picked (which is how it is in REAL world elections). CONFUSING, MISLEADING and MEANINGLESS would be apt terms to describe this latest SWS survey. The most appropriate description should be STUPID.

#SWSsurvey #STUPID #ConflictOfInterest #Halalan2016 #Elections2016

2016 Presidential survey front-runner Senator Grace Poe with Vice President Jejomar Binay in second place. Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte occupies the number three slot while DILG Secretary Mar Roxas is tied for fourth and fifth positions with former President now Manila City Mayor Joseph Estrada based on previous (more credible) survey results.