Tulfo brothers, admin bets, newbies top OCTA pre-election senatorial survey

Metro Manila, Philippines - A sitting lawmaker and his popular broadcaster brother, administration bets, and a number of newcomers were the preferred candidates in a latest pre-election senatorial survey released on the first day of the campaign on Tuesday, Feb 11.

ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo from the administration slate topped the OCTA Research survey with 70 percent of respondents. His brother Ben was second; he is running as an independent.

Other administration bets were in the Top 16, including reelectionists Bong Revilla, Pia Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Francis Tolentino, and Lito Lapid, as well as former lawmakers Tito Sotto, Ping Lacson, and Manny Pacquiao.

Also on the list were newcomers from the administration slate such as Benhur Abalos, Abby Binay, and Camille Villar, as well as television host Willie Revillame.

Meanwhile, Duterte ally Bong Go was at Top 5, while Bato dela Rosa was at rank 12th to 16th.

The results were close to the recently released Pulse Asia survey, with Erwin Tulfo also topping the pre-senatorial poll.

The OCTA survey was conducted from Jan. 25 to Jan. 31 - less than two weeks before the campaign period, among 1,200 respondents. It has a margin of error of ±3%.