Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero took the second spot among senators vying for the 12 seats in the Senate, according to an ongoing province-wide “GO Philippines Poll Survey 2022” being conducted by news organization GO-Pangasinan.
As of April 2, Escudero has been picked by 64.80 percent of the total number of respondents to the online survey. On its Facebook page, Go-Pangasinan said the updated results of the non-commissioned survey are released every Saturday.
Data from the Commission on Elections show there are 2,096,936 registered voters in Pangasinan, including Dagupan City, for the May 9 voting.
The veteran lawmaker has been a consistent top pick by survey respondents from various polls. Recently, Escudero placed second in a survey commissioned by Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone within the province.
In Laguna, almost 57 percent of 1,556 respondents polled province-wide recently said they would vote for Escudero, which landed him the No.1 spot.
He is also the students’ favorite to win in the May 9 elections based on the results of campus mock elections conducted by various colleges and universities nationwide.
In a survey conducted by the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), which is composed of more than 1,525 member-schools, Escudero was the top choice of students and school personnel.
In February, the Sorsogon governor emerged as the number one choice for senator among respondents in the survey conducted by the Philippine Normal University-Mindanao Campus, with 59.46 percent, and one of the top favorites among senatorial candidates based on the campus mock polls held at Mindanao State University.
In “Likha Pahinarya: Mock Elections Survey 2022” of the Cagayan State University’s College of Allied Health Sciences in Tuguegarao City, Escudero was selected by almost 60% of the respondents, while he was the No. 1 choice of students in the senatorial mock polls in La Salle University in Ozamiz City held from March 23-25.
A former senator for two terms, Escudero said that if elected to the Senate again, he will prioritize measures to make the nation’s pandemic response more agile, empower the local government units (LGUs), and ensure the judicious and wise utilization of the annual budget to help transition the pandemic-weary economy to recovery, among others.
President Duterte has endorsed Escudero’s senatorial bid, citing his solid track record as a veteran lawmaker which, he said, will be crucial in crafting key pieces of legislation and reforms at a time when the country is besieged with challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. His daughter, Davao City Mayor and vice-presidential candidate Sara Duterte-Carpio is personally backing Escudero’s Senate comeback bid.
The tandems of Senator Ping Lacson and Senate President Tito Sotto; Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Kiko Pangilinan; and Senator Manny Pacquiao and Rep. Lito Atienza have adopted Escudero in their senatorial slates.
Mayors from CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and Eastern Samar, who belong to the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), have likewise endorsed Escudero.
Several party-list groups are also supporting his Senate return bid, namely Ang Probinsyano, Ang Kabuhayan, Agimat, An Waray, ARISE, BHW, BTS, Kusog Bikolano, KAPUSO-PM and Uswag Ilonggo, as well as the 200,000-strong Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), one of the biggest non-government organizations in the country, which has committed to campaign for Escudero.