Poe, Villar, Go, Angara top Pulse Asia’s latest poll

Reelectionist senators Grace Poe and Cynthia Villar remained the top favorites to win the May 2019 midterm elections, Pulse Asia's survey results released on Monday showed.

In a statistical tie for third to fifth places are former Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go and Senator Juan Edgardo Angara.

The nationwide pre-electoral survey was conducted from February 24 to 28, 2019 using face-to-face interviews on 1,800 adults.

It has a ± 2.3 percent error margin at the 95 percent confidence level.

Pulse Asia, in its statement, said virtually all of the probable winners are either former or current members of Congress.

Out of the 62 candidates, Pulse Asia said 14 had a statistical chance of making it to the circle of 12 winners.

Poe was preferred by 67.5 percent of the respondents while Villar was second with the support of 61 percent. Go had 53 percent; Angara, 52.2 percent.

They were followed by former Senator Lito Lapid, 49 percent; Taguig City Representative Pia Cayetano, 47 percent; former Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa, 44.6 percent; Senator Nancy Binay, 40.5 percent; former Senator Mar Roxas, 39.8 percent.

Rounding out the 14 likely winners were former Senator Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr., 36.8 percent; Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, 36 percent; Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, 35.6 percent; former Senator Jinggoy Estrada, 33.9 percent; former Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Francis Tolentino, 32.1 percent.

The survey also showed that only 37 percent of the voters already have 12 senatorial candidates in mind, more than two months before the polls.

Pulse Asia said it was only in Mindanao where most voters or 60 percent of the respondents already had 12 preferred senatorial candidates.

It said 1.1 percent of Filipino voters were ambivalent about whom to elect as senator while 1.6 percent refused to identify their preferred senatorial candidates.

One percent of the respondents did not express support for any of the candidates running for senator.

Among the key developments prior or during the conduct of survey were campaign kick off of the political parties and candidates, the challenge of Otso Diretso candidates to the administration candidates to a debate, the declaration of measles outbreak in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Western Visayas, and Central Visayas. —NB, GMA News