Senate President Vicente Sotto III (File photo by EDWIN BACASMAS / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Monday warned would-be candidates for senator that pre-election surveys could be “deceiving.”
For Sotto, aspiring candidates for the upcoming 2019 mid-term elections should instead be mindful of the percentage of votes they would need to win.
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t look at the rankings and that is what a serious candidate should consider,” Sotto said.
He noted that to land in the so-called Magic 12 of the senatorial race a candidate would need 35 percent of the votes.
“The rankings can be deceiving. That’s why so many get lost here,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English.
“We’re 10 months away from the election,” he added..“Anyone in the vicinity of 15 or 18 percent at this point, especially if your awareness level is low, that’s nothing to worry about. You should campaign, you should follow the important tenets of winning an election.”
Sotto’s advice came after Pulse Asia released its recent pre-election survey results on senatorial preferences.
Incumbent Sen. Grace Poe still tops the list of possible senatorial contenders, followed by Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano (a former senator), Sen. Cynthia Villar, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, Sen. Sonny Angara, former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Also in the list are former PNP chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa; former Sens. Sergio Osmeña III and Lito Lapid; and incumbent Sens. JV Ejercito, Aquilino “Koko” Pinentel III, Nancy Binay, and JV Ejercito.
READ: Pulse Asia: Poe still frontrunner in pre-May 2019 polls
Like Sotto, opposition Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who is Liberal Party president, said it was still too early to be worried and to tell whether these surveys would have a bearing on the actual polls.
Speaking in a mix of Filipino and English, Pangilinan told reporters: “First of all, it’s too soon. So many things can happen. The elections are still in May. The initial results [of surveys] can still change. So many things can change. So it’s too early to tell.”
Another LP lawmaker, Sen. Bam Aquino, only landed on the 13th place of the survey.
Pressed on LP’s strategies to ensure that their bets would land on higher ranks, Pangilinan said: “Of course, if I tell you about it, our opponents will know. We will just have to work harder. We will just make sure that our message is better, clearer, more concrete, and more easily understandable and acceptable to voters.” –With reports from Syrah Vivien Inocencio/INQUIRER.net intern