MANILA, Philippines – Former presidential aide Bong Go’s star continues to rise as he landed in the 3rd to 5th spot in a new survey on senatorial preferences.

Pulse Asia’s latest poll, released on Monday, March 18, shows Go now in 3rd to 5th place, competing with consistent survey front runners Grace Poe and Cynthia Villar. A little over half of respondents, 53%, said they would vote for Go if elections were held at the time of the survey.

The survey was conducted from February 24 to 28. It involved 1,800 likely voters. Pulse Asia reported a +/-2.3% margin of error for national percentages.

Go, a newbie in the senatorial race, is in the same range as Sonny Angara, Lito Lapid, and Pia Cayetano, who all won previous senatorial elections.

Bong Go rises to rank 3 to 5 in Pulse Asia survey conducted from Feb 24-28, 2019. | Image from Pulse Asia @rapplerdotcom pic.twitter.com/cVioLDeHhk

— Pia Ranada (@piaranada) March 18, 2019

In the Pulse Asia survey before this, in January, Go ranked 6th to 12th, with 44.7% of respondents said they would vote him for senator.

Pulse Asia’s findings in February show Go is on a definite upward trajectory less than 3 months before the May 13 elections.

Of the candidates that made it to the 1st to 15th spots, 9 are Hugpong ng Pagbabago or PDP-Laban candidates: Go, Ronald dela Rosa, Bong Revilla, Imee Marcos, Koko Pimentel, Jinggoy Estrada, and Francis Tolentino.

Only one from the opposition – Mar Roxas – made it into the winning circle, with a rank of 8th to 12th. The rest are independent candidates or candidates from other political parties.

Workhorse

Go has been a workhorse on the campaign trail, diligently attending both PDP-Laban campaign rallies with President Rodrigo Duterte and those of Hugpong ng Pagbabago, party of presidential daughter Sara Duterte.

Apart from these, Go has been busy with his own events, including frequent visits to fire victims and speaking engagements with various groups. Go has distributed cash assistance to fire victims, which Commission on Elections spokesman James Jimenez said may count as vote-buying, an election offense.

Go has also benefited from constant companionship with the popular Chief Executive, which has translated to regular media coverage. A Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism report showed Go spent the most on political ads even before the start of the campaign season.

Go has constantly had to defend himself against criticisms that government resources appear to have been used for his campaign. A Liga ng mga Barangay event, supported by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, had been festooned with Bong Go banners. The kit contained polo shirts with Go’s face and name. 

The long-time Duterte aide has denied any involvement in these materials while the DILG denies public funds were used for them. – Rappler.com