Surveys 'should not be basis of your vote' in May elections – OCTA

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) — The OCTA Research on Wednesday reminded the public that survey results should not be the basis for voting in the upcoming general elections in May.

“Surveys are just a snapshot. They should not be the basis of your vote," said OCTA Research fellow Ranjit Rye in a virtual press conference.

"Your vote should be disciplined by belief, by platform, by program, by the hopes and dreams articulated by your candidate," he pointed out. "Surveys are just supposed to provide information.”

“Just because a survey showed a particular trend at the moment, (doesn’t mean) that (it) is permanent” That trend will change," Rye added. "The trend will change the more individuals believe that what they do as citizens from now until the May elections is more important than what any survey results will show.”

The University of the Philippines School of Statistics earlier cautioned the public against surveys with questionable methodologies, particularly “kalye surveys,” amid the ongoing campaign season.

Pulse Asia President Ronnie Holmes said that polling organizations must be transparent with the methods they use.

“It is high time for opinion firms, those who conduct surveys, to declare what their methods are," Holmes said. "Because the methods will allow us to access whether the survey is valid and reliable.”

Meanwhile, OCTA Research fellow Guido David said that without the proper use of statistical methods, results of these surveys can be problematic.

“The problem with online surveys, for example, is that people who are not necessarily registered voters can vote in the survey and there maybe people who are voting multiple times," he said. "It can be robot accounts who are doing the vote."

“So there is a methodological problem inherent with these surveys," David added. "When we represent these surveys as sentiment or snapshot, then it’s problematic if these other surveys are being misrepresented to the general public.”