Private pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS) reported Monday that nine of the 12 senatorial candidates endorsed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. remain within the “Magic 12,” with his sister, re-electionist Senator Imee Marcos, still outside the winners’ circle.
The national survey, commissioned by Startbase Consultancy and conducted from April 11 to 15—just four weeks before the May 12 midterm elections—showed ex-President Rodrigo Duterte ally and re-electionist Senator Christopher “Bong” Go maintaining his lead, with voter preference rising to 45 percent from 42 percent in the December 2024 survey.
The survey, which polled 1,800 respondents with a plus or minus 2.31 percentage point margin of error, was conducted shortly after Duterte was arrested by the International Criminal Court and flown to The Hague to stand trial for alleged crimes against humanity tied to his controversial anti-drug campaign.
Duterte’s arrest apparently helped his allies. Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, another key Duterte supporter, climbed to 6th place with a 32 percent voter preference, up from 9th place in December.
Also in the top 12 are Erwin Tulfo (43 percent), re-electionist Lito Lapid (34 percent), former Senate President Tito Sotto (33 percent), Senators Pia Cayetano (33 percent) and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. (31 percent), Ben Tulfo (31 percent), former Makati Mayor Abby Binay (29 percent), Camille Villar (28 percent), former Senator Ping Lacson (26 percent), and former Senator Manny Pacquiao (25 percent).
Still statistically in contention for the 12th spot are TV host Willie Revillame and Senator Imee Marcos, each with 24 percent voter preference, according to SWS.
