NINE of the 15 candidates in the 鈥渓ikely winning circle鈥 in the pre-election senatorial preference survey are backed by the Marcos government, according to research firm WR Numero.
鈥淩ule of thumb in every intervention under the current political system: the advantage is always on the administration,鈥 Julio C. Teehankee, a political science professor from De La Salle University, told a news briefing.听 鈥淭hese individuals were selected by the administration because of their winnability.鈥
Party-list Rep. Erwin T. Tulfo and reelectionist Senator Christopher Lawrence 鈥淏ong鈥 T. Go topped the list with 48.7% and 45.3%, respectively.
They were followed by former Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III with 37%, Senator Ronald M. Dela Rosa with 36.8% and Senator Pilar Juliana S. Cayetano wit 36.6%.
Broadcaster and independent candidate Bienvenido T. Tulfo (35.2%) and Senator Manuel 鈥淟ito鈥 M. Lapid (34.8%) were ranked six to seven, while ex-Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, Sr., ranked eighth with 33.8%, followed by Makati Mayor Mar-len Abigail S. Binay at No. 9 with 31.7%.
Administration bets Camille A. Villar got 29.8% and Senator Ramon 鈥淏ong鈥 B. Revilla, Jr. got 29.5% for ranks 10-11, while former Senator Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV placed 12th with 28.5%.
Completing the 鈥渕agic 15鈥 were presidential sister Senator Maria Imelda Josefa Remedios 鈥淚mee鈥 R. Marcos with 26.4%, former Senator and boxing camp Emmanuel D. Pacquiao, Sr. with 26.1% and former Senator Francis Pancratius N. Pangilinan with 24.5%.
In Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, Mr. Tulfo was at the top with 49% and 59%, respectively, while in the Visayas, Mr. Go and Mr. Tulfo tied with 52%. In Mindanao, Mr. Dela Rosa was No.1 with 70%, trailed by Mr. Go with 63%.
鈥淟ooking at the survey results, it鈥檚 safe to say that the top two positions would be a toss-up between either Erwin Tulfo or Bong Go,鈥 Mr. Teehankee said.
WR Numero interviewed 2,413 Filipino voters on April 23 to 30 for the poll, which had an error margin of 卤2% points. 鈥 Almira Louise S. Martinez
