Legarda leads latest Pulse Asia survey

Senator Loren Legarda: Top choice. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senator Loren Legarda has emerged as the top choice for the Senate in the 2013 midterm elections if the elections were held in the first week of September, according to the results of a nationwide survey conducted by Pulse Asia Inc.

The survey showed that 67.3 percent of Filipino adults would vote for Legarda if the elections were held between Aug. 31 and Sept. 7, Pulse Asia said in a statement yesterday.

Reached for comment,  Legarda said the survey results inspire her to work harder and do more, especially for the poor and needy because people appreciate the work she was doing. “I thank God and I thank the Filipino people.”

With eight months to go before the May 2013 senatorial elections, the same survey found that four in 10 Filipinos already had a complete slate for the upcoming elections while, on average, Filipinos were presently identifying eight of their senatorial bets.

The survey had a margin of  errror of plus or minus three percentage points.

Pulse Asia asked 1,200 adult respondents nationwide, “If the 2013 elections were held today, who among the following personalities would you vote for assuming they would run for office?”

The poll outfit provided a list of 36 candidates and instructed the respondents to choose only 12 names.

“Virtually all of the probable winners were either former or incumbent members of Congress,” Pulse Asia noted.

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero ranked second with 61.2 percent.

Tied in 3rd to 5th places were Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano (49.9 percent), San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito Estrada (49.9 percent) and Cagayan Rep. Juan Ponce Enrile, Jr. (47.4 percent).

In 6th to 10th places were Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV (41.2 percent), Sen. Gregorio Honasan (40.6 percent) and Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (39.2 percent).

Also sharing between 6th and 11th places were former Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri (37.4 percent) and Aurora Rep. Edgardo “Sonny” Angara (35.9 percent).

Trailing Zubiri and Angara was Las Piñas City Rep. Cynthia Villar (32.7 percent, 9th to 11th places).

Four names made it to 12th place, although their low statistical ranking put them out of the winners’ circle, Pulse Asia noted. These were Ma. Lourdes Nancy Binay (27.4 percent, 12th to 15th place), former Sen. Richard Gordon (26.2 percent, 12th to 16th place), former Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. (25.4 percent, 12th to 16th place) and former Sen. Ana “Jamby” Madrigal (23.2 percent, 12th to 17th place). Lawrence de Guzman, Inquirer Research and Cathy Yamsuan

Originally posted at 07:21 pm | Monday, September 17, 2012