Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero is still the top choice among more than 60 candidates vying for the 12 seats in the Senate, according to the latest opinion poll conducted by Publicus Asia between April 19 and 21.
The latest Pahayag National Tracker 2022 Senatorial Survey Series of Publicus Asia, which was released April 25, or 14 days before the May 9 National Elections, showed Escudero on top of the nationwide survey with 46.8 percent of the 1,500 respondents saying they would vote for the veteran legislator if polls were held during the survey period.
Escudero, the only incumbent governor running for senator, has consistently topped Publicus Asia’s surveys since the last quarter of 2020.
Publicus Asia said the non-commissioned independent survey’s respondents were randomly drawn by the Singapore office of US-based firm PureSpectrum from its market research panel of over 200,000 Filipinos. The nationwide poll has a margin of error is +/-3 percent.
“The final survey panel was restricted to registered voters. Parameters based on respondent age, gender, and location were also utilized in the sample formulation in order for the resulting sample to conform more closely to the features of the voting population, as defined by the statistics from the Commission on Elections,” the research agency said.
If elected to the Senate anew, Escudero said he would focus on giving more autonomy to local government units, ensure the judicious and judicious utilization of the annual budget, and help transition the pandemic-weary economy to recovery, among others.
President Duterte has endorsed Escudero’s senatorial bid, saying the governor will play a big role 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. Duterte’s 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.
The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) has also included Escudero in the list of six senatorial bets it is endorsing for the May 9 voting, while mayors from CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and Eastern Samar, who belong to the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), are likewise supporting his Senate return.
The former senator is also endorsed by several party-list groups, including Ang Probinsyano, Ang Kabuhayan, Agimat, An Waray, ARISE, BHW, Kusog Bikolano, KAPUSO-PM and Uswag Ilonggo, as well as the youth-oriented group Nationalist Social-Democratic Society.
The 200,000-strong Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), one of the biggest non-government organizations in the country, has committed to campaign for Escudero.
Escudero is also one of the top favorites among students to win the senatorial race, according to separate campus mock polls conducted by at least 36 colleges and universities across the country.