A “test run that was supposed to be on private review” was how Jonvic Remulla, governor of the vote-rich Cavite, described an informal presidential preference poll he held on Twitter.

The tweet, which went out Tuesday evening, January 11, was quickly deleted from the popular governor’s page.

In the tweet, Remulla announced an “INFORMAL SURVEY.” “Kanino ang boto niyo? p.s. Sorry 4 na pangalan lang ang allowed ng twitter,” he said. (Who’d you vote for? PS Sorry, Twitter only allows 4 names at a time.) 

The governor offered as top choices four presidential candidates, in this order: Senator Ping Lacson, Senator Manny Pacquiao, Bongbong Marcos Jr., and Vice President Leni Robredo.  

By late Tuesday evening, some Twitter users started pointing out that Remulla’s tweet had been deleted. They shared screenshots of the earlier status of the survey as “receipts.” In those screenshots, Vice President Robredo was the runaway choice of those who responded.

“My staff accidentally put it in the wrong setting. I had them remove it immediately. It was an honest mistake,” explained Remulla in a text message to Rappler. 

It seemed, however, that his staff didn’t delete the post it in time.

“There were fewer than a 100 responses, which do not constitute an accurate picture,” said Remulla.

When Rappler told him that some screenshots seemed to indicate that between 10,000 and 20,000 voted on the poll before it was deleted, he said: “I didn’t see it all the way to that number. I only saw it early.”

Not an accurate snapshot

Either way, a Twitter poll is not an accurate snapshot of general voters’ preference. Presidential preference surveys – such as those by Laylo Research, Pulse Asia, and Social Weather Stations – employ methods to make sure the results are an accurate snapshot of the population at large.  

Cavite is among the most vote-rich province in the Philippines. In the last elections, Cavite had over 2.15 million voters, second only to Cebu. 

So it’s easy to imagine how, in a race with much more than four candidates for the presidency, the support of Cavite’s governor would be a huge boost. 

Remulla is part of a powerful political clan in the vote-rich province. His older brother, Boying, represents the 7th district and is running for reelection in 2022 unopposed. Their father, the late Juanito Remulla Sr., was the longest-serving governor of the province who served from 1979 to 1986, and again from 1987 to 1995. The Remulla patriarch was also acting governor in the mid-60s. 

The Remulla brothers had served as spokespersons of national political figures: Boying for former president Joseph Estrada after the latter’s ouster; Gilbert for then-presidential candidate Manny Villar in 2010; and Jonvic for then-vice president Jejomar Binay, whom he abandoned before the 2016 elections.

Update: Gov’s internal survey

In a Facebook post on Thursday, January 13, the governor announced the results of a December 2021 internal survey in Cavite that showed the majority preferred Marcos for president. 

The survey, held from December 1-5 and had 1,600 respondents “sa buong Cavite (from the entire province of Cavite),” indicated Marcos as the vote-rich province’s top pick (62%), followed by hometown boy Lacson (16%), Robredo (9%), then Moreno and Pacquiao. (6% and 4%). 

“Surveys are a snapshot in time. If the election was held today? BBM will win in Cavite by a landslide,” said Jonvic. 

While the governor did not announce the methodology and limitations of the survey, it echoes the results of nationwide presidential preference surveys released in late 2021. Across the board, Marcos was the leading presidential candidate in surveys held by firms like Laylo Research and Pulse Asia. 

“I believe he will win the presidency in 2022. It’s his time. It’s his destiny,” added the governor. – Rappler.com