Claravall questions Baguio surveys

BAGUIO CITY – Retired Regional Trial Court judge and Baguio City mayoralty candidate Del Claravall blasted what he called “Mickey Mouse surveys” that portrayed reelectionist Mayor Maurice Domogan as overwhelming choice in local 2016 voting preferences.

Claravall said the research company which conducted the survey, Philippine Social Beat (PSB), is "not registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission, not listed as a member of any reputable professional research association, nor can it be traced anywhere in the internet."

He said "not only do the surveys smack of irregularities, they are being publicized for the sole purpose of trending."

Reports have it that PSB has done two surveys of mayoralty preferences of Baguio voters, with as many as 4,500 respondents in 128 barangays, since August last year. In a pool of four candidates for mayor, both surveys showed Domogan as being preferred by close to half of voters.

"There was overkill in polling such a huge number respondents for a relatively small city like Baguio," Claravall said. "SWS and Pulse Asia would conduct competent and credible national surveys with less than 1,500 respondents."

Claravall, who left the judiciary to challenge the incumbent mayor in this year's elections, added that "the Mickey Mouse surveys are nothing but festering propaganda meant to fool voters and insult the intelligence of Baguio's thinking class."

"Instead of being drawn to bogus research, voters only need to look at the insufferable congestion, piles of garbage, air pollution, and rising criminality in Baguio to decide the public acceptability of Mayor Domogan," Claravall said.

A former city councilor, Claravall topped the 1995 Baguio elections and was named "councilor of the year" by local media before bowing out of politics to become RTC Branch 60 judge in 1997. Before this, Claravall was the youngest village chief of Baguio City when he won the chairmanship of Barangay West Modernsite in 1972 and when he was chosen by barangay officials to represent them in the city council in 1976.