Pulse: Sara, Bato strong Senate bets

President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter, Davao Mayor Sara Duterte, and former Philippine National Police chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa would have been elected if senatorial elections were held in June, according to the results of a Pulse Asia poll released on Monday.

Reelectionist Sen. Grace Poe would have topped the senatorial race, the survey taken between June 15 and 21 showed.

She also ranked first in the Pulse Asia poll taken in March.

No go?

The latest poll also showed Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go is right in showing ambivalence about running for the Senate.

He would have finished the race with his rivals’ dust in his teeth had he run. The results had him raising the rear.

The survey results, however, failed to excite presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who also rated low.

“The Palace has no take on that for the moment since the 2019 midterm elections are still far off,” Roque told reporters on Monday.

“There’s no election as of now. All of us are focused on our work, so that survey has no meaning to us for now,” he added.

Of the 58 possible candidates covered by the survey, 13 would have a “statistical chance of winning” if the elections were held in June.

Old-timers

Eleven of the 13 were incumbent or former senators.

With 11 months to go before the midterm vote, the survey found that 55 percent of the voters already have a complete list of 12 senatorial candidates.

Pulse Asia asked 1,800 respondents nationwide to choose only 12 out of the 58 on its list of possible candidates.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The results showed that 67.4 percent would have voted for Poe, putting the daughter of the late action movie hero Fernando “Da King” Poe Jr. at the head of the race.

Poe thanked the people for trusting her.

“The survey is about trust and approval for public service that ought to be felt, especially by the poor,” she said.

In the Top 5

“It is also about the people’s affirmation for the work of the women in politics,” she added.

Taguig City Rep. Pia Cayetano, a former senator, would have finished second, with 55.7 percent of the vote.

Sen. Cynthia Villar, another reelectionist, would have gotten 50.1 percent of the vote to place third to fourth, with Davao City’s Mayor Duterte close behind her, with 46.2 percent, ranking third to fifth.

Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara garnered voter preference of 41.9 percent to rank fourth to eighth.

Other probable winners were former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada (37.9 percent); Dela Rosa, who is now chief of the Bureau of Corrections (37.7 percent), and Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III (37.7 percent). All of them are ranked fifth to 12th.

Sen. Nancy Binay obtained 37.1 percent to rank sixth to 12th, followed by former Sen. Sergio Osmeña III (36.6 percent), former Sen. Lito Lapid (36.2 percent) and Sen. JV Ejercito (35.6 percent), who all have a statistical ranking of sixth to 13th places.

Completing the Top 13 was Sen. Bam Aquino, with 32.1 percent and ranked 10th to 16th.

Potential losers

While Mayor Duterte and Dela Rosa fared well in the poll, other politicians allied with the President ranked low.

Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos (29.9 percent) ranked 13th to 20th, while former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (10.8 percent) ranked 23rd to 29th.

Go, whose billboards around Metro Manila all but say he’s running, though he insists he’s unsure, scored 9.9 percent and ranked 23rd to 31st. —Reports from Inquirer Research, Leila B. Salaverria aand Julie M. Aurelio