10 of 12 Marcos-backed senatorial bets top SWS commissioned survey

Ten out of 12 senatorial aspirants backed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. took the top spots in the latest Social Weather Stations senatorial preference survey commissioned by the Stratbase Group.

The survey, which was conducted from September 14 to 23, asked a total of 1,500 adult respondents nationwide to choose from a list of 12 names who they will most probably vote for as senators.

The exact phrasing of the question was: 

“Narito po ang listahan ng mga pangalan ng mga kandidato para sa mga SENADOR NG PILIPINAS. Kung ang eleksiyon ay gaganapin ngayon, sino ang pinakamalamang ninyong iboboto bilang mga SENADOR NG PILIPINAS? Maaari po kayong pumili ng hanggang 12 pangalan. (Here is a list of names of candidates for SENATORS OF THE PHILIPPINES. If elections were to take place today, whom would you most probably vote for as SENATORS OF THE PHILIPPINES? You can mention up to 12 names.)

Topping the list was House Deputy Majority Leader and ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo, maintaining his lead with 54% of voters saying they will vote for him if the election was conducted during the survey period.

Former Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III was in second place with 34%, which is two spots higher compared to the March 2024 SWS survey.

They were followed by re-electionist Senator Pia Cayetano on the third spot with 31%.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte and re-electionist Senator Imee Marcos were tied on the fourth to fifth place after getting 25% each.

Duterte's rating went down from 36% in March, while Marcos got a higher rating from 22% the same month.

Sharing the sixth to seventh spot were former Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson and re-electionist Senator Bong Revilla Jr with 24%.

Both climbed one rank higher after getting additional four percent from 20% in March.

House Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar's rating surged and was tagged in the survey as the "bigger gainer" after breaking into the top 12 and taking the eighth spot with 21%.

In the March survey, Villar placed in the 20th to 24th place.

Makati Mayor Abigail Binay also entered the top 12 and was tied on the ninth to 10th spot with re-electionist Senator Lito Lapid with 20% each.

Former senator Manny Pacquiao's ranking, on the other hand, dropped to 11th to 13th place with 18% from sixth to 7th spot in March.

Same goes with re-electionist Senators Bong Go and Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa.

Go and Dela Rosa share the 11th to 13th spot with Pacquiao after preference for Dela Rosa dipped by five percent and preference for Go went down by one percent.

From the 12 senatorial aspirants endorsed by the administration, only re-electionist Senator Francis Tolentino and Interior Secretary Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr. failed to secure a spot in the top 12.

Tolentino got the 14th place while Abalos took the 16th to 17th spot.

Former Senator Francis Pangilinan, who is vying a new term in the Senate, ranked 15th in the latest SWS survey, while former Senator Bam Aquino shared the 16th to 17th place with Abalos.

In a media release, SWS confirmed that it conducted the commissioned survey.

The poll firm said it employed its own staff for questionnaire design, sampling, fieldwork, data processing, and analysis and does not outsource any of its survey operations.   

It said the sampling error margins of the survey are ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4.0% for Balance Luzon, and ±5.7% each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.—Hana Bordey/AOL, GMA Integrated News