Villar, Poe still on top of latest Pulse Asia senatorial poll

Reelectionist senators Cynthia Villar and Grace Poe continued to dominate the senatorial survey conducted by Pulse Asia, the result of the poll showed on Tuesday.

Villar secured the top spot with 51.7 percent of the respondents favoring her while Poe landed on the second spot with the support of 50.5%.

They were followed by former Senator Lito Lapid who got 45.7%; Taguig City Representative Pia Cayetano with 43.9%; former Special Assistant to the President Christopher "Bong" Go with 40.8%, and Senator Juan Edgardo Angara with 40.4%.

According to Pulse Asia, former Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. and former Bureau of Corrections chief Ronald Dela Rosa ranked fifth to ninth places with 38.1% and 36.7%, respectively.

The two were followed by Senator Nancy Binay, 36.2%; Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, 31.8%; and Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, 29.6%.

Former Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino are statistically tied for the 10th to 14th places with 28.8%, while Senator JV Ejercito was at 10th to 16th places with 28.15% of support.

Villar expressed elation over the result of the survey: "Ako po ay nagpapasalamat sa kanila, marahil nagugustuhan nila akong iboto dahil nagugustuhan nila 'yung mga proyekto kong tinatayo para sa hanapbuhay."

In separate statements, Senators Poe, Pimentel and Aquino welcomed the result of the latest survey.

Poe thanked Filipinos who continue to trust her: "Bagamat wala akong partido, nananatili pa rin tayo sa isip ng marami. Patuloy pa rin ang ating pag-iikot at paglalahad ng plataporma para sa ikabubuti ng ating bayan."

Pimentel, meanwhile, said: "I am happy that those surveyed are aware of my qualifications for the position, remember the things I have accomplished, and have become aware of the good plans I have for our beloved country."

Aquino, for his part, expressed gratitude to the people, especially to the volunteers, for their trust and confidence that serve as his inspiration during the campaign.

"Nagpapasalamat po ako dahil dumarami ang naniniwala, nakikiisa at tumutugon. Salamat po sa mga matatapang at matitiyagang tumutulong sa atin na laging buo ang loob at walang pagod," Aquino said.

Ejercito, for his part, said "hard work is already paying off."

"People starting to appreciate the work that we have done specially the Universal Healthcare Law and creation of Department of Human Settlements. Electorate slowly appreciating those candidates with good performance and clean track record," Ejercito said.

Otso Diretso’s campaign manager Senator Francis Pangilinan, on the other hand, remained optimistic for their senatorial bets to win the May elections despite poor performance in the survey.

“Nakita natin may mga pangyayari na sa huling dalawang linggo ng eleksyon, 'yung mga nasa labas ng top 12, pagdating ng araw ng halalan ay come from behind ika nga at naipapanalo nila. Surprise victory ika nga,” Pangilinan said in an interview on GMA News’ News To Go on Tuesday.

Only Aquino from Otso Diretso was included in the top senatorial bets in the Pulse Asia survey.

“Sabi nga nila ang pinakamahalagang survey ay 'yung araw ng halalan,” Pangilinan added.

Previously, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas of the Otso Diretso made it to the Top 12 in the election polls. However in the latest Pulse Asia survey, he only placed 14th to 17th.

Caloocan City Representative Edgar Erice, Roxas' campaign manager, blamed his drop from the list on his absence from campaigning when he flew to the United States to be with his wife, Korina Sanchez, and their newborn twins.

"It must be noted that the Pulse Asia survey was conducted last April 10-14, 2019, a little over a week after Mar arrived from the US who was away from campaigning for 10 days," Erice said in a statement.

Erice said they will beef up their campaign to convince more voters to choose Roxas on election day.

Meanwhile, despite not reaching the Top 12, Makabayan senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares said he is happy with his rank in the latest election survey.

"This shows that our people are considering candidates not only on the basis of popularity or name recall but on more important criteria, like track record, platforms, and one's stand and actions on the burning issues of the day," he said.

"I expect my numbers to pick up dramatically in the next two weeks," he added.

The result of the survey indicated that 35% of registered Filipino voters are showing support for 12 senatorial candidates.

The survey was conducted from April 10 to 14 through face-to-face interviews. Based on a multistage probability sample of 1,800 likely voters 18-years-old and above, Pulse Asia's nationwide survey has a ± 2.3% error margin at the 95% confidence level.

The Pulse Asia noted that during the period the survey was conducted, pressing issues such as the killing of 14 farmers in Negros Oriental, continuous tension in the West Philippine Sea, rotational brownouts in Luzon, and seizure of cocaine bricks in the eastern seaboard of the country, preoccupied the minds of Filipinos.

In the last Pulse Asia survey, Villar and Poe also were the top favorites though the latter was ahead of the former in the ratings. —With a report from Joviland Rita/MDM/RSJ/KG, GMA News