Grace Poe should up her PR versus Roxas et al

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

A world class one kilometre cemented highway contracted by the Department of Public Works & Highway cost the government P20 million.
“Iyang pag bubungkal pa ng patag sa bukid ang contractor, P20 million ang running price niyan ngayon,” a brass at the DPWH told me.

Presidential wannabes in the Philippine's May 9, 2016 presidential election.
From left Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Grace Poe, and Local
Government Secretary Mar Roxas.(PHOTO CREDIT: getrealPhilippines.

com)

Noong tinanung ko kung magkano ang more or less 5 kilometers new De Venecia Highway sa Dagupan City noong pinundohan ni former 5-Time Speaker Jose de Venecia ang diversion road na iyon noong 2004, the brass told me pumalo ng P400 million ang construction at pa-semento.
“Sobrang mahal naman, bale P80 million bawat kilometro ang pagawa ng 5 kilometers na kalsada!”sambulat ko.
He said it was not that expensive since the highway is first class that until now they still paint it to spruce it up.

“Saka noong ginawa iyan nasa fish pen area iyan. Kaya madaming semento, bato, buhangin binuhos diyan para maging kalsada. May dalawang tulay pa diyan bukod doon sa P900 million na bridge na ang funding ay nanggaling pa sa JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency)”.
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Social Weather Station released its latest September 2 and 3 polls on the presidential, vice presidential and senatorial wannabes.

In the presidential it showed voters' preference for Poe at 47%, up by 5 percentage points from 42% in June.
Among the three declared presidential candidates, Roxas posted the highest jump in voters' preference – 39% in September from 21% in June, an 18-percentage point increase.
Voters' preference for Binay was statistically unchanged at 35%, from 34% in June.
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who had announced that he would not seek the presidency, was fourth with 16%, from 20% in June.

The survey had 1,200 respondents scientifically distributed in the entire country. 300 respondents for the four areas Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Margin of Error (MoE) for the country was +3 -3 while  each of the four areas had +6-6 MoE.  To the uniiniated, +3 or -3 means a percent or hundred thousands of votes of this could be a led or a deficit of Roxas’ 39% to Binay’s 35%. We can say that Binay can be nearing a statistical tie thus the word “plus” with Roxas or Roxas dusted off Binay with millions of votes because of the word “minus” in the +3 or -3 MoE.

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I wrote in the past that the high budget damn the torpedo aggressive campaign of Roxas on the two major TV stations, where 30 seconds ad fetch at P400, 000, will be a factor on the attention of the masses. (You can accessed here where did Roxas was possibly getting his wherewithals : http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com/2015/08/where-did-roxas-get-his-huge-media.html.

 At present, Roxas is the threat to Senator Grace Poe. But with her announcement for a presidential run big business and the monies of San Miguel Corp and Nationalista People's Coalition boss Danding Cojuangco could boost her political stocks by buying 30 seconds and hire PR groups to promote her, fend off accusation against her, and even attack Roxas, Binay, and Duterte.

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The SWS’s poll happened after a week when Poe had a faux pas on her seemingly partisan statement on the Iglesia ni Kristo’s rally at EDSA.

The survey ensued too a week before Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte announced he would not seek the presidency. What happened if the scientific SWS survey was held just after his announcement, would he still regain his present 16% rank?

Call his announcement his strategy to shore up his sorry polls stocks, but for me in case the survey was conducted after his announcement; his poor 16% will plunge moreover.

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I have this grudging admiration to the PR juggernaut and demolition team of Mar Roxas who are ubiquitous at Face Book and other media versus presidential survey leader Grace Poe. Poe's PR should counter this otherwise Roxas eclipses her in the next polls. Victory in the May 9, 2016 election, for me, would be how money buys the best spin doctors a presidential bet can commission. This election would be a mind game. How PR men can best “bang” the minds of the hoi polloi in favour of their desired candidate.

(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at P’nan Biggest News. You can send comments too at totomortz@yahoo.com)