Average voters pick only 7 senators

RE-ELECTIONIST and former senators continued to dominate the top 12 spots in the Senate race in the latest Manila Standard Poll.

The survey, which asked 2,500 registered voters to cast ballots for their presidential, vice presidential and senatorial choices, was conducted from March 21 to 23, and had a margin of error of two percentage points.

Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. continued to lead the pack with 53 percent, followed by Senator Jinggoy Estrada with 50 percent in second place. Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago was still in third place with 40 percent.

Sharing the fourth and fifth places were Senator Pia Cayetano and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, both with 36 percent.

In the sixth and seventh places were former senators Franklin Drilon and Vicente Sotto III, both with 33 percent.

Coming in eighth was former senator Ralph Recto with 27 percent, followed by Senator Lito Lapid at ninth with 25 percent, and Rep. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at 10th with 24 percent.

Rounding out the 11th and 12th places were former Senator Sergio Osmeña III with 21 percent and Jose de Venecia III with 18 percent.

Given the survey’s margin of error, candidates reaching up to the 20th spot still had a chance of joining the winners’ circle, said Pedro Laylo Jr., Manila Standard’s resident pollster.

As in the January and February polls, the senatorial votes were cast together with the presidential and vice presidential votes by asking the respondents to accomplish a ballot that was designed to look like the official ballot for the May 10 elections. This was done to simulate the voting experience in the country’s first automated elections.

At the national level, the Liberal Party accounted for three winners, as did the Nacionalista Party and the Partido ng Masang Pilipino. The ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD had two in the winning circle, while the Nationalist People’s Coalition had one.

In Metro Manila, the Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party both had four winners, while the Partido ng Masang Pilipino had two. The Lakas-Kampi-CMD and Nationalist People’s Coalition had one each.

In North and Central Luzon, the Liberals, the Nacionalistas and the Partido ng Masang Pilipino had three winners each. Lakas had two and the Nationalist People’s Coalition had one.

In South Luzon, the Nacionalistas led with four winners, followed by three from the Liberals, two each from the Partido ng Masang Pilipino and Lakas, and one from the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

Voters, on average, chose seven names for the Senate race. Metro Manila registered the most number of preferences with nine names chosen in the ballot.

Those who did not shade any oval corresponding to their preference for senator were considered undecided, and accounted for 11 percent of the voters, up from 7 percent in the February poll. The highest incidence of undecided voters was again in North and Central Luzon, with 17 percent. –Manila Standard Today