Survey Projections Play Out In Pulso ng Pilipino Exit Poll

PULSO NG PILIPINO --- The same candidates who have been figuring in the pre-poll surveys are playing out in the real-time Pulso ng Pilipino Exit Poll conducted by the Issues and Advocacy Center (The CENTER) which gathered a total of 1,200 respondents nationwide that were evenly distributed in the NCR (300), Luzon (300), Visayas (300) and Mindanao (300).

The Pulso ng Pilipino staff on the field interviewed the respondents as soon as they were within 50 meters away from the polling precincts. They were simply asked – who from the list (showcard) did they vote for and they were asked to choose 12.

This is the second time The CENTER conducted an exit poll. The first time was in 2004 which was the very first time that a real-time exit poll was conducted in the Philippines. In that exit poll, then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo won with 43% of the votes cast against the 38% of voters who voted for the late actor Fernando Poe Jr.

As expected, there were no surprises in this year’s mid-term senatorial polls with the candidates who have dominated the pre-poll surveys seem to have taken advantage of their name recall as the exit poll reflected the same pattern as those indicated in the surveys.

The Pulso ng Pilipino exit poll as of 5:00 p.m. of May 12, 2025 showed reelectionist Sen. GO BONG Go leading the pack with 53%. He followed closely by former Senate President Tito SOTTO with 49.5% who is in a share of the second to third spot with Party List Rep. Erwin TULFO with 49%.

In a share of the fourth to fifth spot are Sen. Lito LAPID with 42.3% and Broadcaster Ben TULFO with 42%.

Two other candidates are in a share of sixth to seventh places. They are Sen. Bato DELA ROSA with 39% and Sen. Pia CAYETANO with 39%. Las Pinas Rep. Camille VILLAR with 36% shares the eighth position to ninth position with former Sen. Ping LACSON who checked in with 35.8%. Sen. Francis TOLENTINO is in solo 10th spot with 32%, Sen. Imee MARCOS is in 11th place with 31% and Sen. BONG REVILLA, Ramon Bautista is in 12th position with 29%.

Makati Mayor Abby BINAY is in 13th place with 27%, former Sen. Bam AQUINO, 14th with 26%, TV Host Willie REVILLAME, 15th at 23%, Rep. Rodante MARCOLETA at 16th with 23%, boxing legend Manny PACQUIAO is at 17th place with 21% and former Sen. Gringo HONASAN is at 18th place with 20%.

The CENTER said it is too early to say if this will be the final composition of the top 12 senatorial slots as the results will likely change in the next few hours. Electronic glitches and confusion in the list of voters also marked this year’s election with violence and massive vote-buying punctuating the voting process especially in the countryside.

Both sides – the Marcos Administration and the Opposition see this mid-term polls not only as a game-changer but a process that could help the Administration recover from its approval and trust ratings that crashed in recent weeks and focus on its efforts in the remaining three years on legacy building.

This election is also crucial that will spell the survival of Vice President Sara Duterte who is faced with an impeachment trial that is set to be convened in July.