Gadon misleads; bets don’t pay to be part of surveys
‘Yang survey firms na yan, binabayaran yan (Those survey firms are paid). Do you know to be enrolled, you have to pay 1 million, in each time they survey?
— Larry Gadon, San Beda University senatorial forum, March 12, 2019.
Senate hopeful Larry Gadon’s claim that candidates in the May elections need to pay survey firms P1 million each time to be “enrolled” is misleading.
Pulse Asia and the Social Weather Stations (SWS), which run pre-election surveys, said Gadon’s claim made March 12 at a San Beda University forum is baseless.
Ana Maria Tabunda, Pulse Asia research director, said in an e-mail:
If he (Gadon) means a candidate needs to pay Pulse Asia P1 million, or any amount for that matter, so that we will include his/her name in our list of candidates in our pre-electoral surveys conducted before or after the deadline for filing of candidacy, the answer is no.
We do not charge anyone any amount so that her/his name will be included. The reason for this is we want to share the results on electoral preference with the public. Charging anyone would allow that person to embargo the results.
Pulse Asia consults various groups when drawing up its list in surveys conducted before the deadline for filing of candidacy to determine who are likely to run, she said.
Leo Laroza, director for communication and information technology, in a phone interview said the SWS waits for the official list of candidates from the Commission on Elections before conducting surveys, which may be commissioned or funded by research sponsors:
In an absence of a final list of candidates (from Comelec), we cannot come up with our own list since we are a nonpartisan, self-sustained organization. SWS will not make the list for you (the survey sponsor).
Business World is an example of an SWS survey sponsor in the 2016 presidential election, Laroza said. The daily chose to publish some survey results, but other sponsors may opt to keep private results of commissioned surveys, he said.
Costs vary because surveys are customized, Laroza said:
It depends on a lot of factors… We have to consider the sample size, how long the questionnaires will be, how soon you need the results, and also data processing.
Gadon had earlier lambasted SWS and Pulse Asia, calling them “dilawan” -- a euphemism for Liberal Party allies -- and claiming they release “flawed and fake” results.
References
ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group. (2019, February 22). Larry Gadon claims SWS and Pulse Asia are 'dilawan,' favoring certain candidates. Retrieved from https://tsek.ph/article/larry-gadon-claims-sws-and-pulse-asia-are-dilawan-favoring-certain-candidates
Ang Malayang Pilipino. (2019, March 12). Atty.Glenn Chong & Atty. Larry Gadon outshines other candidates at San Beda College senatorial forum. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHcRUdFHk6g&t=1098s (watch from 18:18-18:33)
Vera Files. (2019, February 14). Gadon gets two things wrong in rant vs. SWS, Pulse Asia. Retrieved from https://tsek.ph/article/gadon-gets-two-things-wrong-rant-vs-sws-pulse-asia
___________________________________________________________________
The views and information in ‘Tsek.ph’ are those of their respective authors and owners and do not reflect the official policy or position of the media and academic partners of Tsek.ph.
