Imee officially bolts Alyansa

• We wish her luck – Alyansa

• Imee ratings fall

• Go tops SWS poll

MANILA, Philippines — Amid speculation that her brother President Marcos had junked her from the administration’s Senate slate, Sen. Imee Marcos broke away yesterday from the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas.

“As will be soon discussed in my preliminary findings, clearly there were actions taken by the administration that ran counter to my ideals and principles. Thus, I cannot stand on the same campaign platform as the rest of the Alyansa. As I have stated from the outset of the election period, I will continue to maintain my independence,” Marcos said in a statement sent to Senate reporters.

She said the government witnesses in the Senate’s probe on former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest on orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC) last week appeared to be hiding essential facts by repeatedly invoking executive privilege and the sub judice rule.

“Over and above political advantage, the sovereignty of the country and the interest of true justice for every Filipino must remain paramount,” Senator Marcos said.

She pointed out that “beyond their constant narrative that the Philippines was simply complying with its international commitments, a deliberate effort to obscure the truth only gave rise to ever greater suspicion that the Constitution may have been disregarded and our sovereignty diminished by the arrest of former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte.”

Senator Marcos has been vocal in her support for Duterte, criticizing her brother’s administration, which she said did not stop the illegal arrest of the former president.

Alyansa campaign manager Toby Tiangco said they respect the senator’s choice and wish her luck in her campaign.

“In many public statements, Senator Imee herself said that she was uncomfortable attending Alyansa’s campaign sorties. We respect that choice and Alyansa will continue to inform voters that our senatorial candidates are capable, with proven track record and experience and they are here to help them improve their lives by supporting the flagship projects of the administration,” Tiangco, a congressman of Navotas, said.

While he endorsed his sister’s reelection bid, the President noticeably did not mention her in the campaign sortie in Cavite and Laguna.

Support for Imee drops

Support for Senator Marcos in the latest pre-electoral survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) continued to drop as she now placed 16th in the survey ranking.

It was her lowest placement in monthly surveys commissioned and released by the Stratbase group since December.

In the latest survey conducted from March 15 to 20, Marcos obtained the support of only 19 percent of the respondents, down from 24 percent in February and 28 percent in January. She placed 14th in both surveys.

Only 21 percent supported Marcos in the December poll, but she still ranked 12th to 14th at the time.

She is now behind former senators Francis Pangilinan and Bam Aquino, who obtained the support of 24 percent and 21 percent in the March survey, respectively.

The latest survey was the first pre-electoral poll released since Duterte’s arrest on March 11.

Go, Tulfo lead Senate bets

A close ally of former president Duterte, reelectionist Sen. Bong Go has surged to the top spot and is now tied with perennial frontrunner ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo.

Both Go and Tulfo obtained the support of 42 percent of the respondents in the SWS survey.

President Marcos’ Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas slate continued to dominate the latest polls as a majority of its candidates are within the winning margin.

Following Go and Tulfo were Tulfo’s brother, media personality Ben Tulfo, and former Senate president Vicente Sotto III, who both obtained the support of 34 percent of survey respondents.

They were closely followed by reelectionist Senators Lito Lapid (33 percent), Bong Revilla (32 percent) and Pia Cayetano (31 percent), former senator Panfilo Lacson (31 percent), Sen. Ronald dela Rosa (30 percent) and television host Willie Revillame (28 percent).

Tied for the last two spots were Makati Mayor Abby Binay, former senator Manny Pacquiao and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar, who all received the support of 27 percent of respondents.

Aside from Go, only Ben Tulfo, Dela Rosa and Revillame are not part of administration slate.

Ben Tulfo and Revillame are running as independents, while Go and Dela Rosa are running under Duterte’s PDP-Laban.

Unlike Go, however, Dela Rosa – who may also face an arrest warrant from the ICC – saw a decline in support, from 32 percent in February to just 30 percent.

Outside the so-called Magic 12 were former senators Francis Pangilinan and Bam Aquino, who received 24 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

Following Senator Marcos are actor Phillip Salvador (19 percent), former interior secretary Benhur Abalos (18 percent), former senator Gregorio Honasan (17 percent) and Sen. Francis Tolentino (15 percent).

Salvador is a Duterte ally, while Honasan – running under the newly established Reform PH party – already expressed his position against the arrest of the former president. Abalos and Tolentino are with the administration’s Alyansa slate.

The latest SWS survey had 1,800 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus 2.31 percent. – Janvic Mateo