Presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his running mate, Sara Duterte-Carpio, maintained their lead over the rivals in a non-commissioned survey conducted by the RP-Mission and Development Foundation Inc. (RPMD).
Some 53 percent of the respondents named Marcos as their preferred presidential candidate.
Vice President Leni Robredo came in second with 25 percent, followed by Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso (11 percent), Senator Manny Pacquiao (8 percent), and Senator Ping Lacson (7 percent).
Duterte-Carpio was chosen by 58 percent of voters as their favored vice presidential candidate, followed by Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III (29 percent), Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan (7 percent), Dr. Willie Ong (4 percent), and Congressman Lito Atienza (1 percent).
The RPMD survey also showed Marcos and Duterte-Carpio’s continued dominance in all regional voting areas.
In the senatorial race, former Public Works Secretary Mark Villar topped the so-called Magic 12, with a 68.5 percent rating.
Villar was followed by Antique Rep. Loren Legarda with 63.1 percent, broadcaster Raffy Tulfo with 60.8 percent, Sorsogon Governor Francis Escudero with 60.3 percent, and re-electionist Juan Miguel Zubiri with 53.7 percent.
“At this point, negative expose against Marcos as a campaign strategy will not be effective among voters. Such issues have been neutralized through social media initiatives. There a still ‘soft votes’ that can still be swayed to the other candidates with the right political strategy,” said RPMD’s Paul Martinez.
The survey also showed that ACT-CIS (11.25 percent) is the top choice among party-list organizations, followed by Ako Bicol (9.67 percent), An Waray (7.12 percent), Gabriela (6.84 percent), and 4PS (6.30 percent).