Pacquiao, Lani Mercado near Senate 'Magic 12' - survey

Saranggani Representative Manny Pacquiao at the session hall of the House of Representatives. Jonathan Asuncion

MANILA, Philippines — The sitting Quezon City mayor, the incumbent justice secretary, the wife of a detained senator and a Filipino boxing icon are included in the top 20 senatorial preferences for the 2016 polls, a new Pulse Asia survey showed.

Results of the survey conducted from June 24 to July 2 revealed that former Senator Francis Pangilinan, now the presidential assistant for food security and agricultural modernization, is the top perceived senatorial bet with 54.7 percent of respondents saying they will vote for him.

Next to Pangilinan were Senators Vicente Sotto III and Ralph Recto, who obtained the votes of 53.8 percent and 52.7 percent of the survey respondents, respectively.

Joining the top six were former senators Panfilo Lacson (47.1 percent), Manuel Roxas II (47 percent), and Richard Gordon (45.1 percent).

Completing the "Magic 12" were Senate President Franklin Drilon (44.7 percent), Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (43.8 percent), former senators Juan Miguel Zubiri (42.2 percent) and Jamby Madrigal (38.2 percent); Senator Sergio Osmeña III (37.4 percent) former Akbayan representative Risa Hontiveros (32.4 percent).

Those who did not make it to the "Magic 12" but are still among the top 15 were Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista (32.3 percent), Taguig Representative Lino Cayetano (32 percent), Senator Teofisto Guingona III (30.8 percent).

Making it to the next five slots were Justice Secretary Leila De Lima (28.6 percent), Cavite Representative Lani Mercado Revilla (28.4 percent), Saranggani Representative Manny Pacquiao and former lawmakers Jack Enrile and Mitos Magsaysay.

The survey polled 1,200 adult Filipino respondents and has a ± three percent margin of error.

Pulse Asia has also released the results of its survey on the Filipinos' presidential and vice presidential preferences for 2016.

Vice President Jejomar Binay again emerged as the top contender for the presidential elections, while Senator Grace Poe was the most preferred choice for the vice presential post.

Read: Binay tops poll on presidential bets; Grace 2nd

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