TAGUIG House Representative Alan Peter Cayetano, President Rodrigo Duterte's running mate in the 2016 presidential elections, topped the list of preferred senatorial candidates in the 2022 elections, according to a local survey.
The University of Mindanao-Institute of Popular Opinion (UM-IPO) conducted an online survey "on the preference of Filipinos for senators in the 2022 National Elections."
Cayetano, former House Speaker, topped the senatorial survey with 35.5 percent. He ran for vice president in the 2016 elections but was defeated by incumbent Vice President and presidential aspirant Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo.
He is followed by former senator and incumbent Sorsogon Governor Francis “Chiz” Escudero with 34.4 percent at second place, and former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Mark Villar at third place with 33.4 percent.
Antique Representative and House Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda is at fourth place with 32.6 percent, while occupying fifth to seventh places are TV personality Raffy Tulfo (26.9 percent) and Senate re-electionists Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri (26.6 percent), and Joel Villanueva (26.4 percent).
Senate re-electionist Sherwin Gatchalian landed eighth place and is preferred by 25 percent of the respondents, while former Vice President Jejomar Binay (24.1 percent) and actor Robin Padilla (24.5 percent) clinched the ninth to 10th ranks, respectively.
Three former senators made it to the last places at 11th to 13th ranks -- Jinggoy Estrada (19.7 percent), JV Ejercito (19.2 percent), and re electionist Risa Hontiveros (19.1 percent).
Also trailing the survey are former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista (18.8 percent) and former National Defense secretary Gibo Teodoro (18.3 percent) at 14th to 15th, former senator and Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) Secretary Gringo Honasan (17.4 percent), Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo (17.2 percent), and former Press Secretary Harry Roque (17 percent) at 16th to 18th, respectively; reelectionist Dick Gordon (16.3 percent) occupying 19th place; and Lawyer Lorenzo Gadon (15.8 percent), Atty. Chel Diokno (15.6 percent), and former Agriculture and Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Emmanuel "Manny" Piñol (15.6 percent) occupying the 20th to 22nd spot, respectively.
UM-IPO said in a press release that the online survey was conducted from December 21 to 28, 2021.
Respondents of the survey are “Filipino social media users from different regions of the Philippines.”
"Since the survey was done online as physical contact is still not allowed during the time of conduct of the survey, IPO relied heavily on online and targeted social media users who are targeted and identified via sponsored ads in two social media platforms of Meta (Facebook and Instagram)," the survey body said.