Senatorial candidate and incumbent Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero placed second in the latest nationwide pre-election survey of preferred senators conducted by radio station DZRH, improving his rank three notches up from a similar poll conducted last December.
Escudero gained 6.3 percentage points to expand his lead to 45.3 percent in the MB-DZRH Pre-election Survey that polled 7,566 respondents. The survey result, which has a margin of error of +/- 1.13 percent, was conducted on March 12 but was released on March 15.
Escudero, who is seeking a new six-year mandate in the Senate this May election, has been consistently topping various pre-election surveys. Last month, he emerged as the number one choice for senator among respondents in the nationwide survey conducted by the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP).
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 recently 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.
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.
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 Magdalo.
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.