Rama, Osmeña unbothered by survey results

Survey results of RP- Mission and Development Foundation Inc. for the mayoral race in Cebu City.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, the standard-bearer of Partido Barug-PDP Laban, and former Councilor Margot Osmeña, the standard-bearer of Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK), said they are unbothered by the results of a poll survey for mayoral candidates in Cebu City.

The non-commission survey, conducted by RP-Mission and Development Foundation Inc. with a pool of 1,200 randomly picked respondents, revealed that 38 percent of the responders chose independent candidate Councilor David Tumulak for mayor of the city.

He was followed closely by incumbent Mayor Rama with 30 percent and then lagging behind him was Osmeña, who got 25 percent of the respondents.

READ: Survey: Tumulak leads in Cebu City’s mayoralty race; Gwen in province

Tumualk told CDN Digital that he was grateful for the results of the survey as this showed that even without the mechanism to hold a city-wide campaign, his efforts have been heard by the residents.

“I am happy since this shows that the Cebuanos have placed their trust and confidence in my integrity and capability as a public servant. I know that there is more to be done, and it is too early in the day to celebrate,” said Tumulak in a text message to CDN Digital.

“Be assured that rather than being complacent, the results of the survey inspired me to do more and serve the Cebuanos better; because that is what they deserve. Efforts would always be appreciated, and their choices will soon be rewarded,” he added.

The survey came as a surprise since the public expected the candidate leading the surveys to come from either the two major parties in the city, BOPK and Partido Barug-PDP Laban.

Rama has the advantage of being the seating mayor. He is also allied with Presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., and Vice Presidential candidate Sara Duterte.

Osmeña, on the other hand, has a long influence in the political scene in the city with her husband, the former Mayor Tomas Osmeña, leading the campaign.

The former councilor seems unfazed by the survey and her reply to CDN Digital reflects so. “Not at all,” she said when asked if she was worried.

Rama, for his part, said that he does not see the survey affecting his campaign much, although he does not want to discredit the survey.

He said that in the surveys they conducted, he was the city’s leading candidate, and this discrepancy of results can speak volumes.

“We are very much challenged, as we continuously been challenged and we are lifted up because in our survey we are also number one,” he said.

For the mayor, the real test is on election day on May 9, 2022, when the voters will cast their final votes in the ballots.

/bmjo