After the Easter press conference, Isko Moreno’s popularity drops
The mayor of Manila is losing popularity in all geographic areas and economic levels only weeks before the elections.
In a Pulse Asia survey done less than a month before election day, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno witnessed a decline in support for him following an Easter Sunday news conference in which he called on Vice President Leni Robredo to retire.
The study, which lasted from April 16 to 21, was conducted in part in the days after Moreno’s, Senator Panfilo Lacson’s, and former Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales’ news conference at the Manila Peninsula Hotel on April 17. All three are running for president.
Moreno’s nationwide voter preference has dropped from 8% to 4% since his March Pulse Asia rating.
Due to the setback, he now behind Senator Manny Pacquiao, who had been just behind him in the polls.
Support for the Aksyon Demokratiko presidential candidate fell across all demographics and economic sectors.
Mindanao and the poorest Filipinos, Class E, saw the largest decreases, both of which were 6-point losses.
This is significant because Moreno is seeking support from followers of President Rodrigo Duterte, who has relied on his bailiwick area of Mindanao to maintain his approval ratings high during his term.
Moreno has also tried to win the hearts of the poorest Filipinos by recounting his path from scavenger in Tondo to mayor of Manila.
His most recent poll rating is a significant drop from the 14% he received in June 2021, when he was tied for second position with Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Sara Duterte, the mayor of Davao City, was anticipated to run for president in that vote. She was the survey’s front-runner at the time.
Moreno’s popularity has been quite stable since then. Moreno’s game of catch-up just became a whole lot harder with this latest drop only weeks before the elections.
However, the Mayor has stated repeatedly that the election results will not reflect the findings of the Pulse Asia poll. His campaign cites mobile surveys from the Tangere-Manila Bulletin that suggest he is second to Marcos, not Robredo, in popularity. His approval rating was 20 percent in a Tangere survey taken around the same period, from April 19 to 21, following Marcos’ 52 percent. Meanwhile, Robredo had an 18% approval rating.
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