About 25 percent of adult Filipinos are likely to vote for Senate President Vicente Sotto III as the next vice president if the May 2022 elections were held today, based on the latest Pulse Asia survey results released on Wednesday, Sept. 29.
Pulse Asia's non-commissioned Ulat ng Bayan survey was conducted from Sept. 6 to 11 with 2,400 adult respondents nationwide.
Occupying the 2nd spot were President Rodrigo Duterte (14 percent), Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso (12 percent), and former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (12 percent).
The other possible candidates included in the vice presidential poll were Senator Manny Pacquiao (7 percent), Senator Christopher "Bong" Go (7 percent), Taguig City-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano (6 percent), TV personality Willie Revillame (4 percent), former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV (2 percent), Senator Juan Edgardo Angara (2 percent), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar (2 percent), lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno (1 percent), and former Department of National Defense Secretary GilbertTeodoro (0.5 percent).
The rest of the respondents did not know whom they would vote for as vice president (2 percent), were not supportive of any vice presidential bet (2 percent), or refused to identify their choice for vice president (1 percent).
Pulse Asia also found Sotto as the top choice for vice president in Metro Manila (30 percent), the rest of Luzon (29 percent), the Visayas (27 percent), Class D (25 percent), and Class E (26 percent).
Meanwhile, President Duterte was the leading candidate in Mindanao (30 percent).
Those in Class ABC were most supportive of Sotto (20 percent), President Duterte (15 percent), Domagoso (15 percent), Marcos (13 percent), Cayetano (12 percent), and Go (7 percent).
Seven percent of those belonging to Class ABC were undecided about their first choice for vice president, refused to name their original vice presidential bet, or were not inclined to vote for any candidate for the post.
"With regard to second-choice voting figures, the highest ones are enjoyed by Senate President Sotto (15 percent), former Senator Marcos (12 percent), Senator Go (11 percent), and Manila Mayor Domagoso (11 percent)," Pulse Asia said.
Other probable candidates were Cayetano (10 percent), Pacquiao (9 percent), President Duterte (6 percent), and Revillame (6 percent).
"The lowest second-choice voter preferences are registered by DPWH Secretary Villar (4 percent), former Senator Trillanes (4 percent), Senator Angara (2 percent), ex-DND Secretary Teodoro (1 percent), and Atty. Diokno (0.5 percent)," Pulse Asia noted.
Meanwhile, 5 percent of the respondents did not have an alternative vice presidential candidate and 2 percent did not know whom they would vote for if their original candidate for the post does not run in May 2022.
Should their original candidate for vice-president not run next year, those in Metro Manila were most likely to instead vote for Marcos (18 percent), Sotto (16 percent), Domagoso (15 percent), or Cayetano (12 percent).
The highest second-choice voter preferences in the rest of Luzon were recorded by Sotto (18 percent), Domagoso (11 percent), and Marcos (10 percent).
In addition, 13 percent of those in the rest of Luzon were undecided about their alternative vice presidential bet or were not likely to support any second-choice candidate for the post.
Meanwhile, those in the Visayas were most likely to pick the following as their alternative candidate for vice president: Sotto (15 percent), Pacquiao (13 percent), Domagoso (12 percent), Marcos (11 percent), Cayetano (9 percent), Villar (8 percent), and Go (7 percent).
In Mindanao, the leading second-choice candidates were Go (18 percent), Marcos (14 percent), President Duterte (12 percent), Sotto (11 percent), and Pacquiao (11 percent).
Pulse Asia said nine possible vice presidential bets obtained nearly the same second-choice voter preferences in Classes ABC and E.
These were Sotto (18 percent and 14 percent, respectively), Marcos (14 percent and 13 percent, respectively), Go (14 percent and 12 percent, respectively), Domagoso (8 percent and 14 percent, respectively), Villar (8 percent and 6 percent, respectively), Cayetano (6 percent and 8 percent, respectively), Pacquiao (6 percent and 7 percent, respectively), President Duterte (5 percent and 9 percent, respectively), and Revillame (5 percent and 6 percent, respectively).
"It may also be noted that 7 percent of those in Class ABC are ambivalent about their second pick for vice president/are not inclined to vote for any other candidate if their original choice for the post withdraws from next year’s elections," Pulse Asia said.
"As for those belonging to Class D, they are most inclined to choose Senate President Sotto (15 percent), former Senator Marcos (12 percent), or Manila Mayor Domagoso (11 percent) as their alternative vice presidential bet," it added.