A new survey has placed Senator Christopher “Bong” Go – a long-time aide to Rodrigo Duterte – near the top of the Senate race, with analysts saying the former Philippine president’s arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC) has galvanised his supporters to back candidates allied with his coalition in next week’s midterm election.
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The senator came in second at 45 per cent, close behind popular broadcaster and incumbent party-list representative Erwin Tulfo at 49 per cent, in the list of Senate preferences, according to independent opinion firm WR Numero.
Some 2,500 Filipinos nationwide were polled from April 23 to 30, with the survey aimed at recording public sentiment on pre-election preferences just over two weeks before Filipinos are set to head to the ballot on May 12.
The latest report showed the top two spots were a “toss-up” between Go and Tulfo, according to Julio Teehankee, a professor of political science and international studies at the De La Salle University.
However, while Tulfo has maintained steady ratings from 46.5 per cent in February to 49 per cent in the fourth week of April, Go has climbed the rankings from 30 per cent in February to 42 per cent in the first week of April, until reaching 45 per cent last week.
Go’s popularity is also reflected in other surveys, registering a rating of 62.2 per cent in voter preferences in an April survey by Pulse Asia.