— Senate President Franklin Drilon opens the 3rd and last Regular Session of the 16th Congress on Monday (July 27, 2015) at the Senate Building in Pasay City. The Senate will hold a joint session with the House of Representatives Monday afternoon to hear the last and 6th State-of-the- Nation Address (SONA) of President Benigno S. Aquino III. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – With only five days left before the elections, the names topping the senatorial race remain the same as in the past surveys, results of the latest Pulse Asia survey released Wednesday showed.
In the survey conducted from April 26 to 29, Senate President Franklin Drilon enjoyed solo first place with an overall voter preference of 47.8 percent followed by former frontrunner Senator Vicente Sotto III who got 43.5 percent (2nd to 3rd places).
Former Senator Francis Pangilinan got 41.9 percent (2nd to 4th places).
Only the ranking of the top Senate bets were changing.
Former Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri got a voter preference of 38.9 percent, bringing him to 3rd to 7th places from his previous 4th to 8th places ranking.
Ex-Senator Panfilo Lacson received 38.5 percent at 4th to 8th places from his previous 4th to 6th ranking.
Among those consistent in the top 12 slots were Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao (37.0 percent, 4th to 10th places); former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros (36.7 percent, 4th to 11th places); and former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Joel Villanueva (35.5 percent, 5th to 12th places).
Also included were Senator Sergio Osmeña III (35.0 percent, 6th to 12th places); former Senator Richard Gordon (34.1 percent, 6th to 12th places); former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima (33.8 percent, 7th to 12th places); Senator Ralph Recto (32.6 percent, 8th to 13th places); and Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian (29.9 percent, 12th to 13th places).
Ana Marie Tabunda, Pulse Asia Research Director, said the 13 top senatorial bets are the probable winners.
“Not so consistent in terms of ranking but same set of 13 for 12 positions. Yes, they are probable winners,” Tabunda said.
Among the probable winners, nearly all of whom are either previous or current members of Congress, five are members of the Liberal Party (LP). Four are independent candidates, two belong to the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), and one each from the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), and Akbayan.
The respondents named seven preferred senatorial candidates on average, the survey result showed.
The nationwide survey was commissioned by ABS-CBN Corporation.
It was conducted using face-to-face interviews on 4,000 registered voters with biometrics.
The poll has a ± 1.5 percent error margin at the 95 percent confidence level.
The survey showed there are 6.7 percent of registered voters who do not support any of the candidates for senator in the May 2016 elections. (MNS)