Sara tops survey on successor to Marcos

MANILA, Philippines — A commissioned survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) has shown Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte as likely to succeed President Marcos when his term ends in 2028.

Sen. Raffy Tulfo and former vice president Leni Robredo ranked second and third, respectively, among the 10 names mentioned by survey respondents when asked who they preferred to be the country’s next leader. Marcos was eighth in the list.

Former LPGMA party-list congressman and Republic Gas Corp. president Arnel Ty commissioned the national survey conducted last April 15 to April 18.

Survey respondents were asked the question “Ayon sa Konstitusyon, ang termino ni Pang Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ay hanggang sa taong 2028 lamang at magkakaroon ng halalan para sa pagka-Pangulo sa Mayo 2028. Sino sa palagay ninyo ang pinakamagaling na lider na dapat pumalit kay Pang. Marcos. Jr. bilang Presidente? (According to the Constitution the term of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is only until 2028, and there will be elections for president in May 2028. Who do you think is the best leader to succeed Marcos as president)?”

In the survey, former president Rodrigo Duterte was fourth, followed by boxing legend former senator Manny Pacquiao, Sen. Robin Padilla, former Manila mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, presidential sister Sen. Imee Marcos, and presidential son and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos (10th).

The survey used face-to-face computer-assisted personal interviews with 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) across the country.

Of the 1,200 respondents, 28 percent chose Duterte, 11 percent picked Tulfo and six percent selected Robredo.

SWS said 41 percent of the respondents either refused to make choices or were unsure of what to answer.

This gave a sampling error margin of ±3 percent for national percentages, and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, balance Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, according to SWS.