DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte has remained the Filipinos’ top pick for the presidency as the filing of certificates of candidacy (CoC) begins this Friday, while Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III emerged as the leading bet for vice president in the latest Pulse Asia Survey
for 2022 May polls.

The survey which was conducted among 1,200 respondents from the September 6 to 11, 2021 showed 20% preferred Mayor Sara as their first choice to be their presidential candidate, followed by former Sen. Bongbong Marcos with 15% and Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno with 13%.

Sen. Manny Pacquiao got 12 percent followed by Sen. Grace Poe with nine percent, Vice President Leni Robredo has eight percent, and Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson earned six percent.

In the vice presidential race, Sotto emerged as the number one choice  with 25 percent, dislodging President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte who is now at second place with 14 percent, followed by Moreno and Marcos with 12 percent each, and Pacquiao and Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go with seven percent each.

Mayor Sara Duterte has yet to announce her intention to run for the president in next year’s election, but has consistently led various political surveys.

“The result of the latest survey shows that the majority of the Filipino people still prefer Mayor Sara to be the next president for the next six years despite her reluctance to seek presidency,” said former Davao del Norte Gov. Anthony Del Rosario, Hugpong para Kay Sara (HPS) chairman and spokesperson.

In two non-commissioned polls conducted from July to August, both Pulse Asia and the OCTA Research Group, in their 2022 national elections survey, indicated that the Davao City Mayor remains the most preferred candidate, with 28 percent of the respondents voting for her if elections were held on the day they were interviewed.

Del Rosario, also the spokesman and secretary general of the regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) of Mayor Sara, said that the recent Pulse Asia survey result sits well with the main objective of HPS to urge Mayor Sara Duterte to seek the highest post of the land in the next national elections.

Mayor Sara Duterte recently said she is not running for president, respecting an agreement with President Duterte that only one Duterte will run for national post in the next election.

The president is running for vice president under a faction of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) banner led by Energy Sec. Alfonso “Al” G. Cusi.

Del Rosario said: “Mayor Sara’s reluctance to run means she has discernment. This shows she is not a political opportunist.”

He added: “She has consistently shown a gentle heart for her constituents, especially the common folk, and that to many Filipinos, is priceless. A style of governance couched by a strong political will and a thoughtful mind, which many of our citizens believe is what the country needs.”

HPS, which was launched early this month, is a citizen’s movement composed of various people-based organizations, local government leaders and business groups that gather research and data which could help Mayor Duterte decide whether to run for the top post in the land in 2022 or not.