LESS THAN a week before the midterm polls, former senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV led a mock election survey on the senatorial race answered by students from the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB).
A total of 182 students took part in the poll conducted by the Artlets Student Council (ABSC), with the majority coming from the Political Science program. The turnout is 4.76% of the 3,827 enrolled Artlets this academic year, based on registrar data.
Among the senatorial candidates, Pangilinan and Aquino were chosen by 92.3% and 89.6% of the respondents, respectively.
Labor leader and activist Luke Espiritu ranked third with 80.3%. Heidi Mendoza, former commissioner of the Commission on Audit, garnered 76.4% of students’ preference.
Other senatorial aspirants who made the top 12 were Danilo Ramos (63.7%); Arlene Brosas (62.1%); Teddy Casino (59.3%); Leody de Guzman (57.7%); Ronnel Arambulo (53.3%); France Castro (52.2%); Sonny Matula (37.9%); and Liza Maza (37.4%).
In a pre-election survey conducted by Philosophy student organization UST Concilium Philosophae in February, the same top four senatorial hopefuls were favored by the respondents.
READ: Pangilinan, Aquino top AB Philosophy survey on senatorial bets
Party-list race
Nearly half or 46.2% of the respondents chose the Akbayan Partylist, whose first nominee is lawyer and human rights advocate Chel Diokno, as their top pick in the survey.
The Kabataan Partylist, which has lawyer Renee Co as its first nominee, came in second with 23.6%. The Mamamayang Liberal Partylist, led by its first nominee former senator Leila de Lima, posted a preference rate of 8.8%.
Other preferred party-lists were Gabriela (6.6%) and ACT Teachers (2.2%), while 3.8% of the respondents abstained from choosing any political party.
ABSC acting president Kevin Crisolo said the mock election results reflect the youth’s preference for candidates who offer long-term solutions and a clear vision for the country’s future.
“I believe [it’s] because a lot of people believe that youth are the hope of the country. And by this, they see that this is what the youth want. This is what they think can give a good future for the Philippines, and for them to realize that this is what we need because we are for the long-term solution,” he told The Flame.
Today’s youth, Crisolo said, also prioritize credentials and platforms over fame and focus on what the candidates could contribute to the Senate.
“We (AB) are liberal arts, and we are very vocal [about] common issues that we want to be solved. And at the same time, we are also very accountable and very transparent people,” he said.
Campaigns and advocacies committee head Miguel Benito, who led the conduct of the survey, said the response rate was “lower than anticipated.”
“[A]round 5% of the student population responded to the survey, but this was to be expected since this was a voluntary survey,” he said.
The poll titled “Think Before You Ink” was conducted from April 22 to 30 via Google Forms and yielded a 95% confidence level with a ±7.1% margin of error.
A total of 66 candidates are vying for 12 senatorial posts in the national and local elections on May 12.
The Student Council Alliance of the Philippines, which includes Thomasian youth representatives as its members, expressed support for Pangilinan, Aquino, Mendoza and the Akbayan Partylist. The organization cited the Students’ Rights and Welfare Bill, “Allowance is Essential” campaign for student aid, hiring of literacy tutors to address “widespread” illiteracy and the rise of the education budget to 6% of the gross domestic product as key proposals backed by the aspirants. F
