Candidate Preferences of Filipino Voters

The Voter Insights on the 2022 National Elections (VINE) Survey aims to determine
main drivers of candidate and policy support in the Philippines. With the current political climate
showing the possibility of continuity in Filipino voting preferences, and strong evidence that
support for the incumbent administration and the drug war can spillover to their allies, there is
now a need to examine whether there is a link between policy and leadership continuity and
voter preferences. As such, this narrative aims to answer the focal question: Do Filipino voters
value policy and leadership continuity in elections? What do voters look for when choosing a
candidate?
In cooperation with Rakuten Insight, an independent research firm based in Singapore,
online surveys using Rakuten Insight’s online panel were conducted from November 29 until
December 14, 2021. This panel consists of 315,000 individuals spread nationwide across broad
regions, income class (defined through annual household income), age groups, and educational
attainment. Random sampling was done among the panel participants, with quotas based on the
2015 National Census of Population conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority. Survey
weights were computed using Gender, Broad Region, and Age quotas based on the 2015 Census,
and the ANES weighting algorithm1. This study had a total of N = 1,500 respondents; final
sample distribution is as follows:

Counts
Profile (# of respondents) %
TOTAL 1500 100%
Gender
Male 749 50%
Female 751 50%
1
Pasek, J. (2010). ANES Weighting Algorithm. Stanford University.
https://web.stanford.edu/group/iriss/cgi-bin/anesrake/resources/RakingDescription.pdf
Lau, A. (2020). Weighting Survey Data with the pewmethods R package. Pew Research Center.
https://medium.com/pew-research-center-decoded/weighting-survey-data-with-the-pewmethods-r-package-d040afb0
d2c2
 Broad Region
NCR 207 14%
Balance Luzon 668 45%
Visayas 286 19%
Mindanao 339 23%
Age
18-29 557 37%
30-39 348 23%
40-49 270 18%
50-59 210 14%
60 years and over 115 8%
Income Class
Above PHP 100,000 120 8%
PHP 50,001 - 100,000 284 19%
PHP 30,001 - 50,000 328 22%
PHP 15,001 - 30,000 396 26%
PHP 15,000 and below 372 25%
Table 1: Unweighted counts and percentages of survey sample by Gender, Broad Region, Age,
and Income Class

This core narrative briefly describes the ideal candidate for Filipino voters based on their
survey responses on characteristics, national issues, and preferred policy continuity. Figure 1
shows the percentage of respondents that selected each character trait as desirable and important
when choosing a political candidate. By and large, Filipinos are looking for a strong leader; for
69% of Filipinos, it is important for a candidate they would be voting for to be someone that can
provide strong leadership. Filipinos also find it important for a candidate to be honest (55%),
intelligent (42%), someone who gets things done (37%), morally upright (33%), and to a lesser
extent, compassionate (19%).
 Figure 1. Preferred Candidate Traits of Filipino Voters.
Question B1. Which of the following 3 character traits are most important for you in voting for a
candidate? Please choose 3 among the following.

RANKED
TOTAL
First Second Third Fourth Fifth
Fighting graft and corruption in
60% 15% 13% 12% 11% 9%
government
Creating more jobs 50% 9% 10% 10% 9% 11%
Controlling the spread of COVID-19 48% 19% 9% 8% 5% 6%
Social services reducing the poverty of
many Filipinos (such as education and 45% 7% 9% 9% 10% 9%
housing)
Improving/Increasing the pay of workers 44% 7% 10% 10% 9% 9%
Eliminating the sale and use of illegal
37% 6% 8% 7% 7% 8%
drugs
Controlling the price of goods and
36% 6% 7% 8% 8% 7%
services
Defending the integrity of Philippine
32% 5% 7% 5% 8% 7%
territory against foreigners
Enforcing the law on all whether
30% 5% 6% 6% 7% 6%
influential or ordinary people
Increasing peace in the country by
29% 4% 5% 8% 6% 6%
fighting crime and terrorism
Stopping the destruction and abuse of
23% 3% 3% 4% 7% 6%
our environment
Reducing the amount of taxes paid 21% 4% 4% 5% 4% 4%
Protecting the welfare of OFWs 18% 3% 4% 3% 3% 5%
Controlling fast population growth 10% 2% 2% 1% 2% 2%
Reimposition of the death penalty 9% 1% 2% 1% 2% 2%
Changing the Constitution 9% 3% 2% 1% 2% 2%

Table 2. Policy Preferences of Filipino Voters.

Question C1. Among the national issues listed, what are the top five issues that the
administration must immediately address?

Table 2 shows the most urgent national issues that Filipino citizens believe the current
administration should immediately address and prioritize. Fighting graft and corruption in the
government is the most urgent national concern for Filipinos with a total of 60% respondents
including this in their Top 5 priority issues. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the loss
of income sources and opportunities due to lockdowns, the creation of jobs was deemed urgent
by 50% of Filipinos, followed by controlling the spread of COVID-19 which was ranked by 48%
of respondents. Economic concerns also remain as Filipinos include social services reducing
poverty (45%) and increasing pay for workers (44%) as their most urgent concerns. These are
followed by the elimination of the sale and use of illegal drugs (37%), a controversial policy of
the incumbent Duterte administration. It is ideal then for candidates to address these issues in
their platforms to the voting populace. Meanwhile, legislative concerns such as the reimposition
of the death penalty (9%) and changing the constitution (9%) are the least urgent concerns for
Filipinos.