Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III expressed elation over the latest Pulse Asia survey showing him as the top choice for vice president in the 2022 elections.
Sotto emerged as the top vice presidential candidate with 25 percent of the 2,400 respondents saying they would vote for him on May 9, 2022.
President Duterte came in second with 14 percent of voters choosing him as their next vice president.
“With utmost humility, I thank God and our kababayans (countrymen) for the trust and confidence that many are placing on me and my dream of further serving the Filipino Family beyond the halls of the Senate," Sotto said in a statement.
"I will use this confidence booster to work harder as the top official of the Senate, as I present myself to our people as a worthy and reliable candidate for VP!" he added.
Meanwhile, presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson remained unfazed with the survey results putting him at third place, but behind Vice President Leni Robredo, Sen. Grace Poe, Sen. Manny Pacquiao, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, and former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio remained the top choice for president among the potential candidates.
"We’re doing alright. We have our own tracking. We are not even thinking of recalibrating our strategy," Lacson said in a separate statement.
"It goes without saying that I am not questioning the results of the Pulse Asia survey even as I congratulate Sotto, my running mate, for topping the latest vice presidential survey," he added.
Earlier, Lacson bared that he is being invalidated in election surveys, although he has yet to determine which polling firm was behind it.
The Partido Reporma also flagged a "mind-conditioning" ploy against Lacson's presidential bid, showing text messages invalidating survey responses from his supporters.
Lacson and Sotto will file their respective certificates of candidacy on October 6.