Manila, May 15 -- Surveys cannot determine election results, though voters may use them as basis in voting for certain candidates, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Thursday.

"I'm not saying that you should not rely on surveys, but what I am saying is surveys are not election per se," Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said at a press briefing.

He said even in the United States, some candidates who figured prominently in pre-election surveys ended up losing.

"The survey can be the basis for the decision of the people or voters, but that is not what will determine the final result," Garcia said, adding that there are many moving factors excluded from surveys.

In the recently concluded elections, several senatorial candidates wh...