ABS-CBN poll: Sotto, Drilon sustain lead in senatorial race

MANILA, Philippines – With days to go before the May 9 polls, reelectionist senators Vicente Sotto III and Franklin Drilon remained the top two choices of voters in the senatorial race, according to an ABS-CBN poll conducted by Pulse Asia from April 19 to 24.

The probable winners are either former or incumbent members of the House of Representatives, except for former justice secretary Leila de Lima, the polling firm said. 

Of the 13 candidates with a statistical chance of winning, 5 are running under the ruling Liberal Party (LP), while 4 are independent candidates. Two bets are running under the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), one from the opposition United Nationalist Alliance, and one from Akbayan.

Sotto and Drilon both ranked 1st to 2nd, topping the survey. Sotto, running under the NPC, obtained a preference rating of 47.6%, while LP chairman Drilon obtained 46.7%.

Returning senator Francis Pangilinan of the LP landed at 3rd place with 43.4%. Ranking at 4th to 6th places are independent former senator Panfilo Lacson (39.9%) and Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao (38.1%).

Former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, who obtained a preference rating of 37.5%, ranked at 4th to 8th places. 

Two candidates, both women, ranked 6th to 12th: former Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros (34.9%) and former justice secretary de Lima (34.9%).

Three candidates, meanwhile, shared 7th to 12th places: reelectionist Senator Sergio Osmeña III (34.4%), former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Director General Joel Villanueva (34.0%), and former Senator Richard Gordon (34.0%). 

Another LP candidate, reelectionist Senator Ralph Recto, made it to the so-called Magic 12, ranking 7th to 13th place with 33.1% preference rating. Meanwhile, Valenzuela City Representative Sherwin Gatchalian also made it to the list of probable winners, obtaining 30.5% to rank at 12th to 13th place.

Pulse Asia said 7.6% of registered voters are not supporting any of the 50 candidates in the senatorial race.

The results of the ABS-CBN commissioned survey were similar to the last commissioned poll conducted from March 15 to 20.

The latest poll, however, saw Gatchalian improve his numbers slightly to inch into the list of probable winners. Pacquiao also saw his numbers rise, putting him from rank 6-12 in the March survey to rank 4-6 in the April poll.

With a little over a week left before voters cast their ballots, only 33% of Filipinos have a complete senatorial lineup.

Pulse Asia said 46% of Metro Manila residents have a complete slate, a higher percentage compared to 29% of respondents in the rest of Luzon and 27% of those from the Visayas.

Registered voters are naming an average of 7 choices for their preferred senatorial candidates.

The ABS-CBN survey was conducted by Pulse Asia among 4,000 registered voters. It has a ± 1.5% error margin at the 95% confidence level. – Rappler.com