Sara Duterte emerges as top presidential bet for 2028 elections: survey
Vice President Sara Duterte emerged as the most preferred presidential candidate for the May 2028 national elections, according to a Pulse Asia survey.
The research company asked 2,400 respondents who they would vote for if the upcoming poll were held during the survey period of Sept. 17 to 24.
Half of Filipino adults (50%) said they would vote for Duterte if she ran against Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo (26%), senators Raffy Tulfo (12%) and Risa Hontiveros (3%), Defense Sec. Gibo Teodoro (1%), Public Works and Highways Sec. Vince Dizon (1%), and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong (0.3%).
Meanwhile, 3% of Pinoys surveyed said they were still undecided, and another 3% said they would not support any of the listed presidential candidates. One percent refused to disclose who they would vote for.
Duterte was the top candidate among respondents in Mindanao, with 92% saying they would vote for her. She also had many supporters in Visayas (56%) and Metro Manila (40%).
For the vice president race, 31% of Filipino adults said they would vote for Sen. Bong Go over senators Robin Padilla (19%) and Bam Aquino (17%), former senator Grace Poe (14%), Sen. Erwin Tulfo (10%), Sen. Kiko Pangilinan (3%), and MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre III (0.3%).
The poll also asked the respondents about their top senatorial candidates among 66 names. Poe emerged as the top candidate with 50.2% of the vote, followed by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano (46.5%), Padilla (45.9%), Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte (37.2%), and former senator Manny Pacquiao (36.5%).
Rounding out the top 15 are Sen. Loren Legarda (33%), former senator Nancy Binay (31.7%), Sen. Chiz Escudero (30.1%), former senator Sonny Angara (21.5%), radio personality Ben Tulfo (21.5%), former Pampanga governor Mark Lapid (19.8%), Sen. Jinggoy Estrada (18.2%), TV host Willie Revillame (17.7%), and former congressman Mike Defensor (16.9%).
The Pulse Asia survey was conducted via face-to-face interviews with a ±2% margin of error at the 95% confidence level.
It noted critical developments that took place amid the conduct of the poll, including Duterte's impeachment trial and the issuance of an arrest warrant against her for grave threats, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez's arrest over plunder charges, Estrada entering a not guilty plea in his plunder and graft cases, investigations into Prime Water Infrastructure Corp. and the Villars, and the school shooting incident in South Cotabato.
Duterte has previously expressed her intention to run for president in the 2028 elections. However, if she is convicted in the Senate impeachment trial, she will be disqualified from holding any future public office.