Incumbent and former senators lead in college mock polls

Five incumbent and four former senators seeking reelection were among the top 12 picks in a mock senatorial poll held among college campuses in the University Belt last month.

Of the 12 senatorial slots, Team PNoy snagged 10 posts, while UNA candidates got three slots, revealed the non-profit developmental organization Local Government Development Foundation in a statement on Monday.

The mock polls, conducted from February 12 to 19, showed that incumbent Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Alan Peter Cayetano lead the rankings at first and second place, respectively. Both of them are running under Team PNoy.

UNA bet and former Senator Richard “Dick” Gordon snagged the third slot, while Team PNoy’s incumbent Senator Koko Pimentel and Aurora Rep. Sonny Angara placed fourth and fifth, respectively.

A usual front-runner in national polls, incumbent Senator Loren Legarda of Team PNoy was in sixth place.

The other candidates that were included in the top 12 were Team PNoy’s Bam Aquino (8th), Senator Antonio Trillanes (9th) and former Senator Ramon “Jun” Magsaysay Jr. (11th), and UNA’s Migz Zubiri (7th) and Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile (10th).

The twelfth slot was shared by Team PNoy’s Risa Hontiveros and former Sen. Jamby Madrigal.

Apart from college students, professors and other non-teaching staff participated in the polls, LOGODEF executive director Edmund Tayao told GMA News Online in a phone interview.

San Sebastian College-Recoletos, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Centro Escolar University, and University of the East were the schools that participated in the mock polls. Each school was allotted 400 ballots.

Asked why LOGODEF chose to conduct the mock polls in the U-belt campuses, Tayao explained: “University Belt institutions are also stakeholders [in the up coming election]. This is an alternative [because] we more often hear from more popular schools, but this is not intended to compete with more popular schools.” — BM, GMA News