CEBU CITY—Senator Manny Pacquiao is unfazed by his poor ranking in recent surveys among presidential candidates.

The Filipino boxing legend said his ranking in the surveys does not reflect the support he has been getting from the masses.

Pacquiao added that dominating surveys do not automatically translate into victory.

“I-recall n’yo ulit, sa loob ng dalawampung taon, dalawang dekada sa eleksyon sa bansa natin, mag mention nga kayo ng nangunguna sa survey na nanalo (Try to recall, in the 20 years, two decades of election in our country, try to mention a candidate who led in surveys and won),” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao was in Cebu on Thursday, March 10, to attend a gathering of barangay officials in Central Visayas.

Pacquiao pointed out that surveys normally cover 1,200 to 3,000 respondents belonging to the A,B, and C classes.

The Senator said there are millions of voters in the D and E classes, who are often excluded from surveys.

“There are 48 million under D class and the E class is comprised of 9.8 million voters,” said Pacquiao.

Those leading in surveys end up losing because of lack of support from the D and E classes, Pacquiao added.

Those in the lower classes are the ones looking for change to improve their quality of living, the eight-division world boxing champion said.

Pacquiao is anchoring his campaign on the promise of helping the under-privileged and ridding the government of corruption.

“This is our chance to improve the lives of the poor and jail the thieves in the government,” Pacquiao said.