Section 5Republic Act No. 7166 on election spending., Sec./Art. 5

Election Surveys. 5.1. Election surveys refer to the measurement of opinions and perceptions of the voters as regards a candidate's popularity, qualifications, platforms or a matter of public discussion in relation to the election, including voters' preference for candidates or publicly discussed issues during the campaign period (hereafter referred to as "Survey").

5.2. During the election period, any person, natural as well as juridical, candidate or organization who publishes a survey must likewise publish the following information:

(a) The name of the person, candidate, party or organization who commissioned or paid for the survey;

(b) The name of the person, polling firm or survey organization who conducted the survey;

(c) The period during which the survey was conducted, the methodology used, including the number of individual respondents and the areas from which they were selected, and the specific questions asked;

(d) The margin o error of the survey;

(e) For each question for which the margin of error is greater than that reported under paragraph (d), the margin of error for that question; and

(f) A mailing address and telephone number, indicating it as an address or telephone number at which the sponsor can be contacted to obtain a written report regarding the survey in accordance with Subsection 5.3.

5.3. The survey together with raw data gathered to support its conclusions shall be available for inspection, copying and verification by the COMELEC or by a registered political party or a bona fide candidate or by any COMELEC-accredited citizen's arm. A reasonable fee sufficient to cover the costs of inspection, copying and verification may be charged.

5.4. Surveys affecting national candidates shall not be published fifteen (15) days before an election and surveys affecting local candidates shall not be published seven (7) days before an election.

5.5. Exit polls may only be taken subject to the following requirements:

(a) Pollsters shall not conduct their surveys within fifty (50) meters from the polling place, whether said survey is taken in a home, dwelling place and other places;

(b) Pollsters shall wear distinctive clothing;

(c) Pollsters shall inform the voters that they may refuse to answer; and

(d) The result of the exit polls may be announced after the closing of the polls on election day, and must clearly identify the total number of respondents, and the places where they were taken. Said announcement shall state that the same is unofficial and does not represent a trend.