Surveys can’t determine final poll results – Comelec

By Ferdinand Patinio, Philippine News Agency

FILE: Rains did not hinder voters from casting their votes at the Dr. Jose Rizal Elementary School in Barangay Sto Niño II, Dasmarinas City, Cavite on Monday (May 12, 2025). (PNA photo by Avito Dalan)

MANILA – Surveys cannot determine election results, though voters may use them as basis in voting for certain candidates, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Thursday.

“I’m not saying that you should not rely on surveys, but what I am saying is surveys are not election per se,” Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said at a press briefing.

He said even in the United States, some candidates who figured prominently in pre-election surveys ended up losing.

“The survey can be the basis for the decision of the people or voters, but that is not what will determine the final result,” Garcia said, adding that there are many moving factors excluded from surveys.

In the recently concluded elections, several senatorial candidates who failed to rank in the surveys ended up in the top 12 based on partial and unofficial counts, while some who ranked prominently but did not enter the so-called winning circle.

Party-list proclamation

Meanwhile, Garcia said the Comelec en banc, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), is looking at proclaiming the winners in the party-list race on May 19.

“For the party-list groups, give us another day to prepare the venue and be able to proclaim them… by Monday,” he said in the same briefing.

There are a total of 63 party-list seats up for grabs in the May 12 elections.