Manila: Eight candidates endorsed by the Marcos administration's Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas (ABP) coalition are statistically poised to win Senate seats in the May 12 elections, according to the final pre-election survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS).
According to Philippines News Agency, administration-backed senatorial candidate and ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo topped the May 2 to 6 survey with 45 percent of voter preference, rising two points from 43 percent in April. He was followed by former Senate president Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, who rose to 3rd place with 37 percent preference.
Senator Lito Lapid placed in the 4th to 5th range with 34 percent, while former Senator Panfilo Lacson ranked 6th with 32 percent. Rounding out the Alyansa-aligned bets in the top 12 are Makati Mayor Abby Binay at 7th to 8th with 31 percent; Las Pi±as Rep. Camille Villar and Senator Pia Cayetano, tied at 9th to 10th with 30 percent; and Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. at the 11th to 12th spot with 29 percent.
The only Alyansa senatorial bets outside the statistical winning circle in this final survey are former senator Manny Pacquiao, former Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, and Senator Francis Tolentino. Pacquiao, Abalos, and independent candidate Willie Revillame were tied for 13th to 15th place, each garnering 24 percent support. Tolentino ranked 21st with 15 percent.
Among non-administration candidates, Senator Christopher Go ranked second overall with 43 percent. Other non-Alyansa candidates in the statistical winning circle include independent candidate Ben Tulfo in the 4th to 5th spot with 34 percent, Senator Ronald dela Rosa in the 7th to 8th range with 31 percent, and Senator Imee Marcos at the 11th to 12th rank with 29 percent.
The survey was commissioned by the Stratbase Group and conducted via face-to-face interviews with 1,800 registered voters nationwide, using a ballot based on the revised official list released by the Commission on Elections. The respondents filled out their ballots in private and sealed them in envelopes. Sampling error margins were ±2.31 percent nationally.
The survey also showed 1 percent of voters were undecided or refused to answer, while 5 percent of ballots were invalid due to overvotes or improper markings.
