The war of the pollsters
Pulse Asia's latest survey says FPJ's star is fading, but the SWS latest survey says FPJ is consistently in the lead. Sen. Lacson has denounced the Pulse Asia result as kataka-taka while other sectors have even raised hints of corruption in the polling firm of Felipe Miranda. Some people are also doubting SWS Director Mahar Mangahas's impartiality since Mangahas is cousin to FPJ.

The question in everybody's mind is: Which polling firm is more credible?

The question is inappropriate and premature. A fact commonly overlooked in the news reports is that that the two surveys of seemingly contradicting results are actually compatible with each other. SWS's survey, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6, was done on Jan. 28 to Feb. 6; Pulse Asia's, with a margin of error plus or minus 2 percent, covered the period February 16-20.

The two surveys covered two different periods; their contradicting results therefore are but to be expected. The survey closer to reality though is Pulse Asia's, simply by virtue of its being the more recent of the two.

The viable conclusion therefore is that yes, indeed, FPJ's star is starting to fade. The citizenship controversy and FPJ's failure to sound coherent have taken their quick toll on the actor's popularity.