'Mind-conditioning': Pacquiao unbothered by surveys results

Aspiring president, Senator Manny Pacquiao on Monday, March 14 said he is not bothered by the result of presidential surveys as he said they are only released for "mind-conditioning" purposes.

Pacquiao, who lagged behind three other presidential candidates in the recent Pulse Asia survey, said he knows the number of his supporters.

He also said that a candidate's true supporter strength can only be seen on the election day, which is May 9, 2022.

"Sino kaya maniwala doon? Dapat tinanong nila yung mga ano, baka yung mga mayayaman lang tinanong nila. Hindi nila tinanong yung mga mahihirap na tao (Who would believe it? They should have asked the... Perhaps they just asked the rich and not the poor)," Pacquiao told reporters in a press conference.

The senator also said that "for the longest time", the results of the surveys were not actually reflected on the ground.

He cited as example the last presidential elections, where former presidential aspirants Mar Roxas and Grace Poe led in the surveys, but in the end were handily beaten by then-Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

"Kahit zerohin pa nila ako sa Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, hindi pa rin ako matitinag (I won't stop even if they give me zero voter preference scores in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao)," he said. "Ano yan, mind-conditioning sa taumbayan (It's only for mind-conditioning of the people)."

The results of a recent Pulse Asia survey released Monday showed Pacquiao ranked fourth in the top presidential bets. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had the highest voter preference with 60 percent, followed by Vice President Leni Robredo and Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso.