Tulfo brothers lead OCTA’s Senate poll

MANILA, Philippines — Two brothers of Sen. Raffy Tulfo are leading the latest Senate preference poll conducted by the OCTA Research group.

The survey, conducted from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2, also found a drop in support for former president Rodrigo Duterte, although he remains in the winning circle among potential candidates in next year’s midterm elections.

Some 60 percent of the respondents said they would vote for House Deputy Majority Leader and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, while 57 percent they would vote for his brother Ben Tulfo.

They were followed by former Senate president Vicente Sotto III (50 percent), Sen. Bong Go (49 percent), former senator Panfilo Lacson (44 percent), Sen. Bong Revilla (44 percent), Sen. Pia Cayetano (35 percent), Sen. Francis Tolentino (34 percent) and former senator Manny Pacquiao (34 percent).

Completing the so-called “Magic 12” are Sen. Imee Marcos, Sen. Lito Lapid and Duterte, who all received support from 33 percent of the respondents.

Outside the top 12 but within statistical chances of winning are Sen. Ronald dela Rosa (29 percent), Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos (28 percent) and social media personality Dr. Willie Ong (28 percent).

Go, Revilla, Cayetano, Tolentino, Marcos, Lapid and Dela Rosa are all eligible to run for a second term.

Trailing them are former senator Gregorio Honasan II, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, Makati Mayor Abby Binay, Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte, television host Willie Revillame, former Senate president Franklin Drilon, former senator Richard Gordon, Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar, former senators Francis Pangilinan and Bam Aquino and AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee.

Among the opposition personalities who have announced their Senate candidacy are Pangilinan, Aquino and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, who obtained support of less than 10 percent of respondents in the latest survey.

Among the 10 candidates to be fielded by the Makabayan bloc, only ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro was in the survey with two percent. Former Bayan Muna congressman Neri Colmenares, who is not among the Makabayan candidates next year, obtained six percent support.

It remains unclear if former president Duterte, who consistently ranked high in previous surveys, will actually run for the Senate.

Some allies have floated the possibility of him and his two sons running for the upper chamber following the breakup of the UniTeam tandem between President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte.

Binay, who is term-limited, is being considered as a possible candidate of the administration coalition. Her sister, Sen. Nancy Binay, is eyeing a mayoralty run in Makati, which could potentially lead to a head-on fight against Abby’s husband Rep. Luis Campos.

Villar is also being floated as a possible Senate bet as her mother, Sen. Cynthia Villar, is term-limited. Camille’s brother Mark Villar is a first-term senator elected in 2022.

OCTA’s non-commissioned survey had 1,200 adult respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus three percent.