Pulso ng Pilipino Final Cast:

Alyansa Keeps Lead But PDP-Laban

Gaining Ground As Campaign Winds Down With Five Days To Go;

Pulso ng Pilipino Sees 7 Alyansa,

3 PDP Laban And 2 Independents

Inside The Magic 12

           PULSO NG PILIPINO --- The Issues and Advocacy Center (The CENTER) which conducted its final Pulso ng Pilipino tracking poll on April 28 to May 3, 2025 sees an exciting windup in this year’s mid-term polls that the Marcos Administration needs to dominate as it hopes to get back on its feet in the second half of its six-year term.

           The non-commissioned Pulso ng Pilipino tracking survey polled some 1,800 respondents nationwide with ages ranging from 18 years old and above representing the ABC, D and E social classes and were equally distributed across all educational levels.

           Ed M. Malay, director of The CENTER, said that surveys represent the perception of respondents on the dates the survey was conducted. Such perception change over time and are influenced by events that are available in the various forms of media platforms particularly social media which has become the primary source of information by the digitally-educated public.

           This is the reason why there has been a major shift in the conduct of political campaigns from advertising to social media as the Philippines and Filipinos in general have a very high percentage of mobile cellular phone screen time on a daily basis.

           In fact, the Philippines is regarded as the texting capital of the world as around 400 million text messages are being sent through mobile gadgets by Filipinos regardless of their age. This is the reason why a big chunk of the political campaigns of political candidates and organizations have shifted to the use of SMS to send their campaign messages across.

           The final Pulso ng Pilipino tracking poll shows seven Alyansa official candidates, three PDP-Laban bets and two independents getting into the Magic 12. Suffice it to say, these are also the candidates who took advantage of the availability of digital gadgets and social media in their campaign.

           Barring any unforeseen scenarios such as poll manipulation, Sen. BONG GO is assured of getting reelected and will most likely finish on top of the Magic 12 with 59%. In second position is former Senate President TITO SEN Vicente Sotto III (54%). Coming in third position is reelectionist Sen. BATO de la Rosa (49.3%). In a share of the 4th to 5th place are erstwhile leader and ACT-CIS Party List Rep. ERWIN Tulfo (47.6%) and Sen. PIA Cayetano with (45.7%)

           Sharing the 6th to 7th spots are Makati Mayor ABBY Binay (43%) and another reelectionist Sen. TOL Tolentino (42.7%).

           In 8th to 9th places are: Las Pinas Rep. CAMILLE Villar with (40%) and Sen. IMEE Marcos who is also running for reelection with (39.9%). Both Villar and Marcos were recently endorsed by Vice President Sara Duterte which basically explains the sudden spike in their ratings.

           The 10th to 11th places are shared by Broadcaster BEN BITAG Tulfo with 39% and former Sen. PING Lacson with 38%.

           At the tail end of the Magic 12 is Party List Rep. RODANTE MARCOLETA with 35%.

           At least half a dozen candidates also have a statistical chance of making it to the Magic 12 with five days to go before the May 12, 2025 mid-term polls. These candidates who are within range at the lower end of the 12th to 14th places. They are: Former Sen. GRINGO Honasan (34%), TV personality KUYA WILL Revillame (33.5%), and lawyer-artist JIMMY Bondoc with 31% and who is in a share of the 15th to 18th places with Sen. LITO Lapid (30%), Sen. BONG Revilla (27%) and former Sen. MANNY Pacquiao (23.4%)

           Others who are within range are: Action star IPE Salvador (23%), former Interior Secretary BENHUR Abalos (22%), former Sen. BAM Aquino (20.7%), Party List Rep. BONNIE Bosita (20%), former COA Commissioner HEIDI Mendoza (20%), former Executive Secretary VIC RODRIGUEZ (18%), former Sen. KIKO Pangilinan (17%) and, lawyer RICHARD MATA (15%), Pastor Apollo Quiboloy (15%) and lawyer RAUL LAMBINO (15%).

            Malay also said that the Senate is a legislative body whose members are tasked with crafting the laws of the land and treaties with foreign governments. Thus, it follows that the public must be discerning in their choices and should elect only those with the educational capacity to comprehend the legislative bills and or documents before them.

           The august halls of the Senate is also where its members are given the privilege to speak out on certain issues which affect the social and political environment and also as a platform where issues are debated upon especially when there are bills that could impact and affect the people’s way of life. This is something that we cannot see from certain candidates who’s only advantage is their name recall and celebrity status, added Malay.

           The Pulso ng Pilipino survey which is conducted by The CENTER has been in existence since 1992 as an internal poll research organization during the presidential campaign and also during the administration of the late President Fidel V. Ramos.

           Bong GO’s campaign gained traction from his patronage of sports development at the grassroots level and certainly from the beneficiaries of his Malasakit health program. SOTTO, on the other hand, used his vast experience as a four-term Senator who was never absent or late when the Senate was in session even during the pandemic. SOTTO is credited with having authored or co-authored some 259 laws, the most number ever recorded by a senator from the time of Quezon to the present. Sotto is also gunning to be the first senator to be elected to a record fifth term.

           TOL Tolentino saw an upward swing in his reelection bid with the endorsement he received from political leaders in provinces and cities with huge voting population. Tolentino also picked up a lot of points from the recent Senate hearings he conducted on the attempts of China to influence the mid-term polls.

           Senator IMME MARCOS, on the other hand, received a boost in her reelection campaign from the endorsement of Vice President SARA DUTERTE and when she succeeded in exposing the flaws in the manner with which Former President RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE was arrested and illegally transported to The Hague.  

The CENTER also explained the huge drop in the ratings of Senators LAPID, BONG REVILLA and Pacquiao as reflective of the growing number of voters who are beginning to look at the quality of the candidates to sensitive and important national positions such as the Senate.

While Lapid has not been dragged into contentious issues such as plunder, still there have been some controversies raised with regards his alleged connection to the POGO operations and quarrying firms in Pampanga. Bong Revilla at the same time has remained quiet about the court ruling that ordered him to return the P124-million to the government. There is also the question of the change of name, albeit through judicial proceedings, which came as a surprise to many.

   During the face-to-face interviews, a skip interval method was employed and selective interviews were conducted considering the demographic requirements such as gender, age and socio-eco classification as the main considerations. In such situations, proper physical distancing was still observed including disinfection of materials used.

          A unique feature of the PnP survey is its use of actual intelligence information on the ground that are collected from the so-called Listening Posts (LPs). This layered system of intelligence gathering developed during the previous Ramos presidential campaign is what ensures the accuracy of the Pulso ng Pilipino survey.

           The PnP survey during the period covered shows the race for the Magic 12 remains tight as current political developments can influence the mindsets of voters going into the May 12, 2025 polls. Anything can happen and the rankings may still change depending on how the current issues are managed by both the Administration and the Opposition. (Ed Malay @ 09209197878)