Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes said the final month of campaign activities that leads to the May 9, 2022 presidential race is a “crucial” period as it would define who will be able move up and eventually win in the elections.

“This is a race among contenders. It’s just a question really of whether these contenders will be able to catch up or move up or move down in the remaining month of the campaign, which is quite critical,” Holmes said in an interview with ANC on Friday, April 8.

In the Pulse Asia’s Ulat ng Bayan presidential survey conducted from March 17 to 21, and released on April 6, Vice President Leni Robredo gained nine percentage points to attain a voter preference score of 24 percent, from 15 percent in February.

Meanwhile, survey frontrunner former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. saw a four-percentage point drop in his score from 60 percent to 56 percent.

Holmes pointed out that more than half of Filipino voters surveyed for the 2010 elections only had a final decision on who they would vote for as president just one month before election day or on election day itself.

“In this remaining month, you would expect that many of the campaign activities will intensify. It’s a month that’s also quite critical because the last time we did an exit poll we note that almost half of the voters then in 2010 were saying that they firm up their decision on who to vote for as president only within the past month before election day and up to election day,” Holmes said.

“That means that whatever happens within this month would really define who would move up and who would eventually win the May 9, 2022 elections. It’s up for grabs. It’s quite difficult for people to have a single digit, but it’s not necessarily something that is cast in stone. That’s why this is a survey that shows disposition from March 17 to 21. Let me emphasize, it’s a disposition. It’s not a clear or firm intention,” he added.