De Lima, Pacquiao among 13 strong contenders in senatorial race

MANILA, Philippines – Thirteen out of 89 candidates for senator have a statistical chance of winning seats in the May 2016 polls, with Sen. Vicente Sotto III so far leading the race, according to the latest survey of Pulse Asia.

Sotto got the support of 67.9 percent of 1,200 registered voters asked in the Pulse Asia poll, taken from Dec. 4 to 11.

Five individuals shared the second spot: Sen. Ralph Recto (58.9 percent), former senators Panfilo Lacson (58.5 percent), Richard Gordon (57 percent) and Juan Miguel Zubiri (55.9 percent), and Senate President Franklin Drilon (55.1 percent).

Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Francis Pangilinan obtained 54.5 percent, and was ranked 2nd to 8th places.

Sen. Sergio Osmeña III was in 7th to 9th places with 49.8 percent, followed by former Justice secretary Leila de Lima at 8th to 9th spots with 46.8 percent.

Ranked 10th to 13th places were Saranggani Rep. Manny Pacquaio (40 percent), Sen. Teofisto Guingona III (38.6 percent), Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian (36 percent) and former Akbayan Party List Rep. Risa Hontiveros (35.7 percent).

Former Technology Education and Skills Development Authority director general Joel Villanueva received 29.4 percent, followed by former Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino with 23.5 percent, actor Edu Manzano with 22.4 percent and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez with 21.6 percent.

Former Pampanga governor Mark Lapid got 20.9 percent, followed by Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno with 19.2 percent, actress and Paranaque City councilor Alma Moreno 11.4 percent, former energy secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla 9.6 percent, migrant workers advocate Susan Ople eight percent and Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo 6.5 percent.

Only 1.1 percent of Filipino registered voters are not inclined to vote for any of the candidates included in this senatorial electoral survey, while less than one percent either do not know whom to vote for as senator (0.9 percent) or refuse to identify their preferred senatorial candidates (0.3 percent), Pulse Asia said.

Pulse Asia said Filipinos are naming an average of nine of their preferred candidates for senator, with most of them already having a complete slate for the Senate (55 percent).

The names of the candidates in the Pulse Asia’s December 2015 electoral survey were based on the COCs submitted to Comelec last Oct. 12 to 16, the pollster said.

Pulse Asia’s nationwide survey has an error margin of plus or minus two percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.