Incumbents, former senators continue to dominate Pulse Asia’s senatorial survey

MANILA, Philippines – Re-electionist candidates continue to rule the senatorial race, according to the latest Pulse Asia “Pulso ng Bayan” survey released on Tuesday.

Eight incumbent and former senators made it to the top 12 of the latest survey. These are Sen. Vicente Sotto II; Senate President Franklin Drilon; former senator and food security czar Francis Pangilinan; former Sens. Panfilo Lacson, Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Richard Gordon; independent senatorial candidate, Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, and Sen. Ralph Recto.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey, Sotto who ranked first to second and Drilon who placed first to third maintained their lead with 53.8 and 49.2 percentage points,respectively. Meanwhile, Pangilinan made it to the second to third rank with 46.4 percent.

Two senatorial candidates, Lacson and Zubiri shared the fourth to ninth place with 39.1 and 39 percent points correspondingly, while Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao ranked fourth to ninth with 38.5 percent.

Osmeña obtained 37.9 percent placing fourth to twelfth while former Philhealth Director Risa Hontiveros and Recto ranked fourth to thirteenth with 37.9 and 36.3 percents, respectively.

Gordon, who is running independently, earned 34.1 percent with rank sixth to thirteenth. On the other hand, both Valenzuela Rep. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian and former TESDA chief Joel Villanueva shared the seventh to thirteenth spot with 33.8 and 33.7 percent.

Former Justice Leila De Lima took the eight to thirteenth place with 32.3 percent.

Like the Social Weather Stations survey released on Monday, only incumbent Sen. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III failed to make it to the top 12 of the survey as he ranked fourteenth to eighteenth with 25.1 percent.

Five of the candidates who made it to the Pulse Asia survey were new senatorial candidates namely Pacquiao, Hontiveros, Gatchalian, Villanueva, and De Lima.

Meanwhile, seven of the candidates were from the Liberal Party. These are Drilon, Pangilinan, Lacson, Hontiveros, Recto, Villanueva, and De Lima.

RELATED: Sotto, Drilon statistically tied for top spot in Pulse Asia survey | Drilon, Sotto sustain lead in SWS survey