Despite spending only 0.6 percent of the amount spent by the top ad spender in the vice presidential race, independent vice presidential candidate Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero has surged ahead in surveys because of his appeal to the youth, as well as the ordinary people.
This according to Youth for Chiz organizer and former student leader Jules Guiang, who said that he was not surprised that Escudero was leading surveys even with almost zero ads because he had seen first hand the “rock star” reception for Escudero in his sorties and received positive feedback from voters, young and old alike, who had seen the Bicolano senator up close.
“Students and ordinary people go crazy when they see Chiz. It’s obvious that many of them look up to him and are impressed by his grasp of issues, and how he’s able to explain complex matters in a way that they can relate to,” said Guiang, the former Vice Chairman of the University of the Philippines University Student Council.
A recent article by PCIJ revealed that Escudero had spent the least among all senators vying for the vice presidency. Quoting Nielsen Media monitoring reports, as of Jan. 31, 2016, Escudero had only spent 2.7 million pesos, which is .6 percent of the 419 million pesos spent by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, the top as spender, and roughly 1 percent of the 273 million pesos spent by administration LP bet Leni Robredo and the 252 million pesos spent by Sen. Bongbong Marcos, who ranked second and third among ad spenders, respectively.
Rounding out the list were Gregorio Honasan, who spent 29.6 million pesos, and Sonny Trillanes, who spent 8.9 million pesos.
Despite spending only a fraction of what his opponents are spending on ads, Escudero has pulled away from his rivals in the latest vice presidential survey. In the Laylo survey conducted from Feb. 29 to March 1, Escudero ranked first with 30 percent, Marcos second with 24 percent, Robredo third with 20 percent, Cayetano fourth with 11 percent, Trillanes sixth with 7 percent, and Honasan seventh with 4 percent.
Guiang added that he was not surprised that Escudero has been doing well in voters in the D and E economic classes because among the candidates, “his pro-poor platform is very clear.”
Escudero enjoys substantial leads over his rivals among voters in the D and E demographic with 30 percent in both categories.
“In issues affecting the masa, he’s always taken their side, from his support for lower income taxes, to his campaign to override the presidential veto of the 2,000-peso SSS pension hike, as well as his position for onsite resettlement of informal settlers and against labor contractualization,” Guiang explained.