Among the 2022 presidential aspirants, it was Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso and Sen. Manny Pacquiao who did not gain significant online traction following the first two presidential interviews which aired recently.
A strategic communications firm said that it monitored public posts mentioning the aspirants on Facebook pages, Twitter, YouTube and Philippine-based news sites who were invited to the Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews and the presidential one-on-one interviews with Boy Abunda.
These were Moreno, Pacquiao, Sen. Ping Lacson, Vice President Leni Robredo and Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
ALPAS Consultancy conducted the review from Jan. 21 to 30, 2022.
The Soho interviews aired on January 22 while the Abunda interviews with Lacson aired on January 24, with Marcos on January 25, with Robredo on January 26, with Pacquiao on January 27 and with Moreno on January 28.
According to the firm’s report, Moreno and Pacquiao were not able to receive significant online traction during the week of interviews, although their supporters were more vocal compared to last October, when they filed their certificates of candidacy.
The firm’s report said that the two candidates registered the lowest mentions on all social media platforms, as well as on news headlines.
ALSO READ: Robredo, Marcos dominate online sphere during COC filing week —report
Moreno only had 8,887 total mentions across Facebook pages, Twitter, YouTube, and news sites, while Pacquiao logged 5,600 mentions across the same platforms
Lacson, on the other hand, recorded the biggest improvement in terms of the number of mentions after the interviews.
The firm noted that Lacson garnered a total of 15,853 mentions which is way higher than his 839 mentions record during the certificate of candidacy week filing last October.
Marcos registered a total of 36,989 mentions across all platforms, while Robredo ranked highest with 61,199 mentions.
Same sentiments after presidential interviews
The firm also said that public sentiments for the presidential bets after the Soho and Abunda interviews mostly remained unchanged.
The Marcos vs. Robredo narrative continued after the interviews, similar to what happened during the COC filing last October.
Last October, Marcos and Robredo recorded the highest positive sentiments on Facebook at 45% and 46%, respectively.
This January, both garnered the highest percentage of positive sentiments. Robredo recorded 49% positive sentiments while Marcos had 43%.
“With Marcos and Robredo continuing to take up the majority of headlines and online posts, many Filipinos are treating the 2022 elections as a two-way race. Any controversy attributed to either candidate immediately strengthens the conviction of the other’s camp, and neither camp’s supporters are open to discussion over their differences,” it said.
“There also doesn’t seem to be room for soft, undecided voters even this early in the race, as both Marcos and Robredo supporters show unshakable faith in their choices. All other candidates are easily dismissed by these voters, even if they admit that these candidates have good qualities,” the report added.
It concluded that in general, “all positive sentiments were from supporters sharing why they believe their candidate had the best responses to the interview questions.”
The report said that Marcos’ supporters were especially “headstrong” about their belief that he is the best candidate regardless of the platform discussed.
“Most negative sentiments were also clearly from supporters of other candidates. For example, Lacson, who had only 21% of his comments tagged negative, earned these from Robredo supporters reiterating the notion that he has not accomplished as much in his long political career after he rebutted Robredo’s answer to why voters should not elect him as president,” the report further said.
“Many also shared the sentiment that the best candidates for presidency should not have responded to Boy Abunda’s fast talk questions, as it results in negative campaigning. For this reason, Robredo’s answers continued a narrative that her platform exists solely to counter Marcos/Duterte’s leadership,” it added.
