Esperon hoping to overtake Agabas in surveys

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

ROSALES – Pangasinan 6th District congressional bet Hermogenes Esperon said this month, a prestigious Manila-based survey outfit that he commissioned last year would release its findings about his electoral stock.

Esperon, who will run against Vice Governor Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, declared that in March 2009 he enlisted a pollster whose findings he will use personally as guide for his political strategy.

When pressed to give some snapshots of the surveys, he said that the result on March 2009 showed Agabas led him by a 40 percent margin.

He explained the disparity was the result of his non-declaration on that month that he wanted to run for congress.

“Itong September (2009) 20 percent ang edge ni Marlyn. Nakalahati ako kaagad. So we will know kung by January (2010) iyong next na result.

He said his survey was done scientifically because of the number of samples, and the use of random sampling.

In that survey, the minimum samples in a town were 200 respondents unlike the 23 for his opponent.

“Sino niloloko nila doon sa paid survey (that saw print on some local newspapers),” he said.

He stressed however that the best survey is the vote of the people after the May 10, 2010 poll.

Esperon was reacting about the allegedly “spurious” survey perpetrated by the camp of his political rival Agabas – a veteran politician in the district and a lawyer.

He smilingly downplayed the results that showed opponent leading him by a wide margin of 93 percent if election would be held on October 12 to November 8, 2009.

“Maganda ang survey kung makikita mo kung paano ka mag-perform. And so kung gagamitin mo iyan pang psychological operation ay mag-iiba na iyan. Ibig sabihin mas malamang ay hindi na iyan ang totoong survey. In other words ang gamit noon ay to convey na leading nga siya kahit na hindi,’ he said.

He questioned the authenticity of the survey’s outfit because some media men could not find the person responsible for it and its address at Munoz, Nueva Ecija.

The survey, done by Philippine Research & Information Service Publishing, Inc., was recently mocked by the supporters of the former military chief of staff because of the miniscule samples that did not equally represent many of the ten towns of the district.

“Ngayon lang ako nakakita ng survey na parang pang grade school,” he stressed.