Poe tops survey; 10 HNP bets in ‘Magic 12’

After topping a survey of probable senatorial winners yet again, Sen. Grace Poe said she was grateful for the people’s continued support and would “continue to work hard so as not to disappoint them.”

The reelectionist senator led the latest Pulse Asia survey dominated by former or incumbent members of Congress, with opposition candidates trailing the pack.

The survey, conducted on March 23 to 27, showed that 16 of the 62 senatorial candidates had a “statistical chance of winning” in next month’s midterm elections.

According to the results, 72.6 percent of Filipino adults would have voted for Poe if the elections were held in March, making her the top choice for a Senate seat.

The survey showed that 10 of the probable winners were from the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), the political coalition headed by the President’s daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

Malacañang attributed the consistent high placing of the administration’s senatorial candidates to the President’s high satisfaction ratings.

“Since the voters believe in the President, they also believe in those he has endorsed,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.

Sen. Cynthia Villar came in second with 63.7 percent followed by Sen. Sonny Angara with 58.5 percent.

Go ranks 3rd to 5th

Former presidential aide Christopher “Bong” Go ranked third to fifth with a voting preference of 55.7 percent, followed by Taguig City Rep. Pia Cayetano with 52.2 percent, and former Sen. Lito Lapid, with 48.4 percent.

Tied at sixth to ninth places were Sen. Nancy Binay with 45.5 percent and former Philippine National Police chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa with 44.8 percent.

Former Sen. Bong Revilla got 40.9 percent and ranked seventh to 10th, while Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos ranked ninth to 12th with a voter preference of 39 percent.

Former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chair Francis Tolentino got 35.7 percent to be in a tie for 10th to 16th places with former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who had 35.2 percent.

Ranking 11th to 16th were reelectionist and opposition contender Sen. Bam Aquino with 33.8 percent, former Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III with 33.6 percent, and former Sen. Serge Osmeña with 33 percent.

Roxas slips

Completing the probable winners was opposition candidate Mar Roxas, who slipped down the list with 31.3 percent.

Villar, Angara, Go, Cayetano, Dela Rosa, Revilla, Marcos, Tolentino, Estrada and Pimentel belong to HNP.

Mayor Duterte, the coalition’s campaign manager, attributed the party candidates’ strong showing in the survey to their message of “positive change.”

With a month left before the elections, only 42 percent of the 1,800 respondents said they already had a complete list of 12 senators they would vote for.

In Iloilo City, Vice President Leni Robredo said she was banking on Ilonggo voters to deliver for the opposition Otso Diretso candidates, since “[they] are very intelligent voters, very discerning.” —REPORTS FROM LEILA B. SALAVERRIA, JULIE M. AURELIO, JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE, NESTOR P. BURGOS JR. AND INQUIRER RESEARCH