Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio continues to lead the latest Pulse Asia Survey for the preferred presidential candidates for the May 2022 national elections, causing jubilation from her supporters.
Deputy Speaker and Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera said the latest Pulse Asia Survey result indicated what she called the overwhelming desire of those surveyed for Sara Duterte to join the 2022 presidential race.
The survey, conducted among 1,200 respondents from Sept. 6-11 2021, showed 20 percent of them prefer Duterte-Carpio as their first choice for presidential candidate, followed by former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with 15 percent, Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso with 13 percent and Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao with 12 percent.
Of the four presidential aspirants, Domagoso and Pacquiao had publicly announced that they were running for president.
Others included in the survey were Sen. Grace Poe and Vice President Leni Robredo who came in 5th and 6th.
Lacson, who has declared he is running for president, occupied the 7th spot.
Also mentioned in the survey were former House Speaker Alan Cayetano, Sen. Christopher Go, former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, Walden Bello and former Defense Sec. Gilbert Teodoro.
Cayetano, who also served as senator, said he might be inclined to seek the presidency.
Trillanes is also training his gun on the presidency if Robredo would not offer herself as the standard bearer of the opposition.
Go has repeatedly declined the endorsement of his partymates in a faction of the ruling PDP-Laban, saying he was not interested in the presidency.
For the vice presidency, Senate President Vicente Sotto III emerged as the most preferred candidate with 25 percent.
Next to Sotto were President Rodrigo Duterfe, 14; Domagoso and Marcos, both 12, and Pacquiao, 7 percent.
Sought for comment, Sotto said: "With utmost humility, I thank God and our ‘kababayans’ for the trust and confidence that many are placing on me and my dream of further serving the Filipino family beyond the halls of the Senate."
“I will use this confidence booster to work harder as the top official of the Senate, as I present myself to our people as a worthy and reliable candidate for VP," he said.
Meanwhile, the Palace insisted Duterte remained the vice presidential bet “to beat" despite placing second in the Pulse Asia survey.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque described the surveys as “snapshots of public opinion at a particular point in time.”
“Be that as it may, the President remains the candidate to beat in the 2022 elections,” Roque said.
Broadcaster Raffy Tulfo, on the other hand, topped Pulse Asia's latest survey on Filipinos' preferred senatorial candidates.
Tulfo led the list of preferred candidates with 55.2 percent backing among respondents.
He was followed by Cayetano, Sorsogon Governor Francis Escudero, and Antique Representative Loren Legarda.