Nene tops survey of Senate bets

Who will make to the Senate’s "Magic 12" in 2004?

Opposition Sen. Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel tops the list, according to a survey conducted among the country’s mayors by Vox Populi, a private think tank.

Pimentel garnered an overall choice rating of 75.4 percent, which Vox Populi attributed to his being the author of the Local Government Code and his advocacy for the devolution of powers to local government units.

Next in the list were Sen. Loren Legarda (70.2 percent), Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. (62.2 percent), Senators Robert Barbers (58.1 percent), Rodolfo Biazon (57.3 percent) and Rene Cayetano (53.4 percent), Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon (46 percent) and Justice Secretary Hernando Perez (42.7 percent).

Also in the list were Iloilo Rep. Raul Gonzales (41.4 percent) and former Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago (41.1 percent), Juan Ponce Enrile (37.5 percent) and Francisco Tatad ((36.7 percent).

Sen. Ramon Magsaysay got a 71 percent rating, but he is a third-termer and disqualified from seeking re-election. Former Sen. Raul Roco got a 57.85 percent rating.

Vox Populi, a Quezon City-based research group, mailed the survey questionnaires to city and municipal mayors in the first week of October.