Villar leads Pulse Asia's May senatorial poll

Senator Cynthia Villar topped the latest Pulse Asia Pulso ng Bayan Pre-Electoral Nationwide Survey on the May 2019 Senatorial and Party-List Elections.

The incumbent senator got the nod of 55.9% of respondents in the survey conducted from May 6 to 9.

Senator Grace Poe is in 2nd to 3rd place with 47.7%.

Taguig City Representative Pia Cayetano is in 2nd to 4th place with 45%, while former Special Assistant to the President Christopher "Bong" Go is in 3rd to 7th place with 42%.

Other candidates garnered the following:

• Ex-senator Bong Revilla: 39.5%, 4th to 8th places
• Senator Lito Lapid: 38.5%, 4th to 9th places
• former Bureau of Corrections chief Ronald dela Rosa: 37.9%, 4th to 9th places
• Senator Sonny Angara: 36.3%, 5th to 10th places
• Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos: 34.1%, 6th to 14th places
• Senator Nancy Binay: 32.8%, 8th to 15th places
• Senator Koko Pimentel: 31.7%, 9th to 15th places
• Senator JV Ejercito: 31.2%, 9th to 15th places
• ex-Senator Jinggoy Estrada: 30.8%, 9th to 15th places
• Senator Bam Aquino: 30.6%, 9th to 15th places
• former Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Francis Tolentino: 28.9%, 10th to 15th places

Ejercito, in a radio interview, said he was relieved but happy and surprised at the survey results.

"Medyo nakahinga na ng konti. Happy rin, suprised... Nawala ako sa winning circle. Buti na lang nakalapit ako. Maganda na ang trajectory. Sana magtuloy-tuloy na," he said, adding that he attributes his placing in the survey to a more orderly campaign.

Complete slate

Only 36% of respondents had a complete senatorial slate (12 names) as of the time the survey was conducted.

Survey details

The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews among 1,800 likely voters aged 18 years and above.

The survey has a ± 2.3% error margin at the 95% confidence level. For the geographic areas subnational estimates, error margins at the 95% confidence level are: ± 6.8% for Metro Manila, ± 3.5% for the rest of Luzon, ± 5.1% for Visayas, and ± 4.8% for Mindanao.

These were some of the developments that occurred in the weeks before and at the time the survey was conducted:

1. Peter Joemel Advincula held a press conference at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines headquarters, saying he is "Bikoy" in the "Ang Totoong Narcolist" videos
2. The Department of Justice filed a case of inciting to sedition against Rodel Jayme, the creator of the website used to upload the "Ang Totoong Narcolist" videos
3. President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed the P95.3 billion allotment for infrastructure projects in the General Appropriations act of 2019
4. Duterte visited China from April 25-27 and bagged 19 deals with various Chinese companies
5. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said China does not owe the Philippines for clams and corals in the West Philippine Sea; the Philippines asked China to keep away from Pag-asa Island
6. The Supreme Court issued a writ of kalakasan urging the Duterte administration to protect the marine environment in the West Philippine Sea
7. A magnitude 6.1 earthquake rocked Luzon, followed the next day by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Eastern Samar
8. Duterte urged Congress to pass legislation to protect workers' rights
9. The Metropolitan Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System slapped a P1.13-B fine on Manila Water for failure to provide consistent water supply to its customers
10. PAGASA warned that 16 provinces and Metro Manila will experience drought in May 2019 due to El Niño
11. The Bureau of Internal Revenue ran after more than 130,000 unregistered Chinese workers in the Philippine offshore gaming operations sector
12. Duterte was out of the public eye from April 29 to May 5
13. Eight explosions hit churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday
14. Fire struck Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

 —KG, GMA News