Pulse Asia: Sara Duterte top pick for president, Sotto leads VP polls

FILE PHOTOS Davao City Mayo Sara Duterte and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.

MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio remained the top pick for president, while Senate President Vicente Sotto III emerged as the leading bet for vice president in the 2022 national elections, Pulse Asia’s survey released Wednesday showed.

According to Pulse Asia, Duterte-Carpio is the most preferred candidate for president with 20 percent of Filipino adults expressing support for her during the survey period from September 6 to September 11, 2021.

Duterte-Carpio maintained her lead in the presidential race despite a decrease in her rating which was at 28 percent in the Pulse Asia’s survey conducted in June.

She has announced she will not vie for the presidency.

The Davao City mayor was followed by former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos with 15 percent, Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso with 13 percent, and Senator Manny Pacquiao with 12 percent.

Senator Grace Poe got 9 percent, Vice President Leni Robredo got 8 percent, and Senator Panfilo Lacson had 6 percent.

For the potential vice president, Sotto became the top choice with 25 percent of Filipinos surveyed expressing support for his candidacy.

President Rodrigo Duterte trailed behind Sotto with 14 percent, followed by Moreno and Marcos with 12 percent each, and Pacquiao and Senator Christopher “Bong” Go with 7 percent each.

Duterte dropped to second place from the previous Pulse Asia survey results where he was the leading vice presidential candidate with 18 percent rating. Sotto was only third in the previous survey with a rating of 10 percent.

Pulse Asia President Ronald Holmes said the latest release was part of their regular survey.

The nationwide survey was based on face-to-face interviews of 2,400 adult Filipinos or those aged 18 and above. It also used a ± 2% error margin at the 95% confidence level.

EDV