Senate survey ranking favoring administration unchanged after Duterte arrest

Metro Manila, Philippines - Administration candidates still dominated the latest pre-election senatorial survey held days after the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, with only two of his allies securing spots in the so-called “Magic 12.”

Based on the Social Weather Stations survey commissioned by the Stratbase group, nine candidates from the administration Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas were on the winning circle.

The survey was conducted from March 15 to 20, less than a week after Duterte was arrested and detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands to face murder charges in relation to crimes against humanity during his bloody drug war.

ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo re-electionist Senator Bong Go, a Duterte ally, topped the poll.

Other administration candidates were Tito Sotto, Ping Lacson, Lito Lapid, Bong Revilla, Pia Cayetano, Abby Binay, Manny Pacquiao, and Camille Villar.

Another Duterte ally, re-electionist Sen. Bato dela Rosa, was steady at 9th spot.

Independent candidates and newcomers Ben Tulfo and Willie Revillame were also on the list of possible winners if elections were held during the survey period.

Erwin and Ben Tulfo are brothers of sitting Sen. Raffy Tulfo.

Meanwhile, opposition bets Kiko Pangilinan and Bam Aquino ranked 14th and 15th, respectively.

Dindo Manhit, Stratebase group president, said based on current projections, the administration slate may win big in the May 12 elections.

“Beyond the incumbency advantage, the president has fostered unity among various political forces. While the unity between Marcos and Duterte may have dissolved, we’re now seeing strong alignment among traditional political parties and their allies,” he said.

Declining support for some admin bets

While administration senatoriables dominated the list, the survey also showed declining support for some of its candidates.

Re-electionist Sen. Imee Marcos, who was still under her brother’s coalition group during the survey period, fell to 16th place from 14th in February.

The presidential sister formally announced on March 26 that she has left the administration slate, a week after she launched a Senate investigation on the former president’s arrest.

Another re-electionist lawmaker, Francis Tolentino, also fell to 20th spot, while newcomer and former Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos was at rank 17.

Around 1,800 registered voters participated in the survey with a margin of error of ±2.31%.