Returning senatorial hopefuls Francis Escudero and Alan Peter Cayetano were the top senate preferences in the latest independent and non-commissioned Publicus Asia survey released on Thursday, March 17.
This survey or Pahayag National Tracker 2 (PT2) is the second edition of the ongoing monthly survey series for the upcoming 2022 elections. The survey period ran from March 9 to March 14, 2022.
The pollster said that the top five consisted also of incumbent representative Loren Legarda, broadcast figure Raffy Tulfo, and Senator Win Gatchalian. In the relatively “safe” sixth to ninth spots are former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar, Senator Risa Hontiveros, Senator Migz Zubiri, and newcomer Atty. Chel Diokno.
Ranks 10 through 12 are hotly contested by ten candidates. This includes Senator Joel Villanueva, Atty. Larry Gadon, actor Robin Padilla, former spokesperson Harry Roque, Senator Dick Gordon, former defense secretary Gibo Teodoro, former senator JV Ejercito, former mayor Herbert Bautista, former vice president Jojo Binay, and former senator Gringo Honasan.
"The numbers suggest that the competition for the 12 senate seats is fierce – with several returning senators and senators seeking reelection competing with popular broadcast personalities, national executives, and a former vice president," Publicus Asia said.
"It is difficult to see who will eventually prevail given the current numbers. There is a lot of jockeying across all ranks – especially outside the topmost ranks," it added.
It noted that the fill-up rate is at around 8 – with only 40 percent of respondents selecting 12 names. Additionally, around 30 percent of respondents chose fewer than 6 names for their prospective senate slate.