Fabricated opinion poll spreads prior to Philippine mid-term elections

The purported poll of voters' preferences in Palawan's first congressional district was shared as a graphic on Facebook on April 20, 2025.

The survey is attributed to polling outfit Pulse Asia Research, and was supposedly conducted between April 10 and 15 (archived link).

According to the graphic, Rosalie Salvame -- widow of the district's incumbent representative -- is leading former congressman Franz Alvarez (archived here and here).

Salvame's husband -- Edgardo Salvame -- died on March 13, 2024.  The house speaker has since been designated as legislative caretaker (archived link). 

In an interview with a local radio station, Salvame said she was running to "continue what [her husband] started in our town" (archived link).

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Screenshot of false Facebook post, captured on April 27, 2025

The graphic was also shared elsewhere on Facebook. 

"Mommy Rose Salvame for the win," read a comment on one of the posts.

Another said: "Mommy Rose Salvame deserves this, she's a grateful and kind woman."

But a keyword search for the purported polling data on Palawan's first congressional district did not yield any results.

Pulse Asia Research chair Ronald Holmes also said his organisation did not conduct the purported survey.

"Not ours," he told AFP on April 25.

The group's latest available election survey was conducted in late March for senator and party-list candidates (archived link). 

The graphic circulating online appears to have been put together using the "VotePH2025" logo from the Philippine broadsheet Inquirer's election coverage (archived link).

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Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared graphic (left) and the Inquirer's election logo (right)

The falsely shared graphic is not featured on either the election site, the Inquirer website or the broadsheet's official Facebook page (archived here and here).

AFP has debunked other misinformation in the lead up to the mid-term elections here.