SENATOR Grace Poe remained the top choice among possible senatorial candidates in the 2019 mid-term elections based on a survey conducted by Pulse Asia.
Poe received a rating of 67.4 percent in Pulse Asia's June 15 to 21 survey.
Taguig City Representative Pia Cayetano came in second, posting a voter preference of 55.7 percent.
Following Cayetano were Senator Cynthia Villar (50.1 percent) and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (46.2 percent).
Other top choices were Senator Juan Edgardo Angara Jr. and former senator Jinggoy Estrada, with 41.9 percent and 37.9 percent, respectively.
Bureau of Corrections chief Ronald dela Rosa (37.7 percent), Senator Aquilino Pimentel III (37.7 percent), Senator Nancy Binay (37.1 percent), former senator Sergio Osmeña III (36.6 percent), former senator Manuel Lapid (36.2 percent), and Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito (36.6 percent) completed the "Magic 12."
Lagging behind were Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV (32.1 percent), Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos (29.9 percent), Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista (28.5 percent), actor Robin Padilla (28.2 percent), broadcaster Mon Tulfo (27.1 percent), and former Local Government secretary Manuel Roxas II (27.1 percent).
Included in the top 20 were former senator Ramon Revilla Jr. (26.7 percent) and broadcast journalist Ted Failon (25.8 percent).
President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman and special aide, Harry Roque Jr. and Christopher Lawrence Go, placed 26th and 30th, respectively, despite the Chief Executive's subtle endorsement of their potential senatorial bids.
In a press conference, Roque, who remained coy about his reported plan to run for a Senate seat in 2019, shrugged off the survey results.
"Wala pa pong kahit anong posisyon ang Palasyo diyan dahil mapakatagal pa po ng eleksyon," the Palace official told reporters on Monday, July 9.
(The Palace has no position with regard to that [Pulse Asia's survey] because it's not yet election period.)
"Wala naman pong eleksyon. Lahat po kami nakatutok lang sa trabaho ngayon. So wala naman pong ibig sabihin iyan sa amin," Roque added.
(There is no election yet. We are all focused on our work now. So that has no meaning with us.)
Pulse Asia interviewed 1,800 registered voters, using ±2 percentage points error margin at the 95 percent confidence level.
Subnational estimates for the geographic areas covered in the survey were ±6 percentage points for Metro Manila, ±3 percentage points for the rest of Luzon, and ±5 percentage points for each of Visayas and Mindanao. (VoxPop Philippines)
