Gordon sues SWS, Pulse Asia over election-related surveys

(Updated 12:41 p.m.) Presidential candidate Richard Gordon has sued Pulse Asia and the Social Weather Stations (SWS) for damages over the pollsters’ alleged bias in conducting pre-election surveys. Gordon filed his suit before a Quezon City regional trial court through lawyer Chito Diaz on Thursday morning. The senator also asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction. If granted, the restraining order will mean survey results will not be released for the meantime. A hearing for a longer preliminary injunction will then be held. If the injunction is issued, SWS and Pulse Asia won’t be able to release survey results until the case is resolved. "It is about time that these survey companies be held accountable for their false and misleading surveys. It is a fact that surveys tend to create a bandwagon effect on the voters and effectively strips off voters of their right to select their candidates based on their platform and credentials," Gordon said in a statement.
Pre-election surveys have shown that Gordon had been getting only 2–3 percent voters’ preference. But in his 26-page complaint, the senator claimed the "enthusiasm and approval of the huge crowds" in his campaign sorties disprove his low ratings. He also questioned the pollsters’ research methods, which he said were flawed, outdated and unreliable. Gordon acused the SWS and Pulse Asia of giving their respondents only two choices for president, namely Senators Benigno Aquino III and Manuel Villar Jr. — the frontrunners in the surveys. "[The SWS and Pulse Asia] have created undue and improper bias in favor of [some] candidates and distracted the voters from making an informed choice on all the candidates based on personal qualifications and platforms and not on mere winnability," he said in his complaint. Gordon sought P600,000 in damages, which he said he would donate to the Philippine National Red Cross, which he heads. He also asked for the SWS and Pulse Asia to pay him P50,000 in attorney’s fees. No bias Pulse Asia defended the integrity of its pre-election surveys, saying it does not favor any candidate, and that it only exercises its "fundamental freedom to obtain and disseminate information." "We’re nonpartisan. We are an academic organization and our surveys are noncommissioned," said Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes. Holmes said Pulse Asia would address Gordon’s accusations once he gets a copy of the senator’s suit. "We don’t have a copy yet so we don’t know the basis [of the suit]. We will review it first and make the response after. We are unaware of what the case is all about," Holmes added. The SWS has yet to comment on the complaint. — LBG/RSJ/NPA, GMANews.TV