Group mimicking aid program 4Ps tops survey; Duterte Youth next

A party list group which has the same acronym as the government’s popular conditional cash transfer program topped the latest pre-election Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey commissioned by Stratbase Group.

The survey, conducted from March 15 to March 20, asked registered voters which among the 156 party list groups they would most likely vote for if elections were to be held today.

With two months left before the midterm polls, the survey showed that Pagtibayin at Palaguin ang Pangkabuhayang Pilipino (4Ps) remained on top with 10.44-percent support, an increase from 9.61 percent in February.

The other three occupying the top slots were groups claiming to represent the youth and indigents, or with advocacies that many Filipinos consider important such as anticrime or disaster response.

Familiar names

Following 4Ps and remaining in second place was Duterte Youth with 8.42 percent.

The Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) climbed from fourth place in February to third place in March with 5.29 percent. It switched places with FPJ Panday Bayanihan, which is now in fourth place with a 4.17-percent preference rating.

ACT-CIS focuses on crime prevention as its platform and claims to represent the “oppressed and the abused,” as well as overseas Filipino workers.

FPJ Panday Bayanihan, meanwhile, is a foundation inspired by the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., who sought the presidency in the 2004 elections. It focuses on providing assistance during disasters and calamities.

Several party lists are set to gain one guaranteed seat each, having surpassed the 2.0-percent minimum vote share: Ako Bicol, up to fifth place with 2.51 percent from the 11th spot in February, and Asenso Pinoy, which remains in sixth place with 2.45 percent.

Senior Citizens dropped from fifth to seventh place with 2.28 percent, while TGP advanced from the 31st to 32nd place in February to eighth place in March, with 2.05 percent.

Agimat, which fell two spots to ninth place, secured a 2-percent preference rating in March.

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Pattern preference

Stratbase Group president Dindo Manhit echoed observations from the survey results in February that the consistent performance of the top-ranking party list groups reflects a pattern driven by strong name recall and issue association among voters.

“The sustained lead of 4Ps is largely attributed to its perceived alignment with the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, a widely recognized social welfare initiative that resonates with many low-income Filipino families,” Manhit said.

“Duterte Youth and FPJ Panday Bayanihan, on the other hand, benefit from their name association with well-known figures in Philippine politics and entertainment—names that hold strong emotional and cultural resonance. ACT-CIS also enjoys high rankings due to its association with popular media personalities who maintain significant public visibility,” he added.

The survey asked 1,800 registered voters nationwide and had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2 percent.

Source: Inquirer Archives, Social Weather Stations, Stratbase Group