NOTWITHSTANDING the seemingly endless barrage of mudslinging and negative campaigning against him, Filipino voters’ support for Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. remains solid.

The results in the latest pre-election survey done by Laylo Research showed that the concerted efforts by Marcos’ detractors had failed to sway people to their side.

The survey, conducted last January 17 to 23, 2022, showed Bongbong’s voters’ preference even leapfrogging to 64%, an increase of 6% compared to the 58% he got last November 2021.

There were 3,000 respondents in the said survey.

During the survey period, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Second Division dismissed several petitions seeking to cancel or deny due course to Marcos’ certificate of candidacy (CoC).

At a very distant second is Leni Robredo, who posted 16%. Tied for the third spot are Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Sen. Manny Pacquiao with 7 percent apiece, while Sen. Ping Lacson is in fourth place with four percent voter preference.

It is worth noting that Marcos has successfully gained a foothold in the South Luzon/Bicol Region after he posted a 51% voters’ preference despite the area being a bailiwick of Leni Robredo.

That was in stark contrast to Marcos’ 79% voters’ preference in North/Central Luzon, which meant that Robredo failed to make a dent in his territory.

Marcos has also widened his lead in the vote-rich National Capital Region (NCR), where he cornered 65% of the votes against the other presidential aspirants.

The UniTeam presidential bet also improved his numbers in the Visayas Region, where he posted a 10 percent jump to 55% from the previous year’s 45%.

Meanwhile, Marcos also saw an 11 percent jump in voters’ preference in Mindanao, with 69% voters’ preference compared to 58% last November 2021.

The UniTeam has been consistent in its call for unity among Filipinos.

Both Marcos and his running-mate Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte agree that achieving this feat would be crucial in our bid to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even with their dominant position in many pre-election surveys, both aspirants remained humble and instead trained their focus on discussing their plans and programs directly to the people.

Marcos has continued to affirm his position not to engage in negative campaigning amid the vicious and concerted attacks against him.

The UniTeam intends to improve the critical sectors of Agriculture, Healthcare, Employment, Digital Infrastructure, and Energy to drive and sustain the country’s economic growth.

The UniTeam also said they would continue the Build, Build, Build program started by President Rodrigo Duterte.