Pulse Asia: Duterte, Go, Padilla top candidates for 2028 elections

National

VICE President Sara Duterte, Senators Christopher “Bong” Go and Robin Padilla emerged as the top choices for president, vice president, and senator, respectively, in the upcoming 2028 elections, according to a Pulse Asia survey released on Wednesday, July 22.

The survey found that 49% of respondents would vote for Duterte if the May 2028 elections were held at the time of the survey, a report by Inquirer.net said.

Duterte surpassed Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo by 23 points, who received 26% support. Other hypothetical presidential candidates included Sen. Raffy Tulfo with 14%, Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon and Baguio City Mayor Benjie Magalong with 1% each, and Metro Manila Development Authority General Manager Nicolas Torre with 0.1%.

Duterte recorded her strongest support in Mindanao at 87%, followed by Visayas at 53%, Metro Manila at 39%, and Balance Luzon at 31%.

Robredo, meanwhile, received 38% support in Metro Manila, 31% in Balance Luzon, 27% in Visayas, and 8% in Mindanao.

For the vice presidential race, Go ranked first with 27%, followed by Padilla at 21%, Aquino and former Sen. Grace Poe at 14% each, Tulfo at 9%, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan at 4%, and Torre at 0.5%.

Go also led among hypothetical vice presidential candidates in Mindanao at 47% and the Visayas at 30%, followed by Metro Manila at 21% and Balance Luzon at 17%.

Padilla received 38% support in Mindanao, 17% each in the Visayas and Balance Luzon, and 10% in Metro Manila.

In the senatorial race, Padilla ranked first to second with 48.4%, followed by Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto at 47.9%, Sen. Raffy Tulfo at 43.9%, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano at 43.2% and Sen. Loren Legarda at 40.3%.

Former Sen. Manny Pacquiao ranked next with 35.6%, followed by Makati City Mayor Nancy Binay at 32.4%, Education Secretary Sonny Angara at 27.2%, and Sen. Mark Villar at 26.1%.

Other personalities who placed within the survey's projected winning positions included Ben Tulfo at 20.7%, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada at 19.5%, and Willie Revillame at 19%.

The survey also included Sen. Chiz Escudero, former lawmaker Mike Defensor, former Sen. Mar Roxas, Cabinet Secretary Benhur Abalos, and Mark Lapid, among other incumbent and former lawmakers, government officials, and public personalities.

Pulse Asia conducted its “Ulat ng Bayan” survey from June 28 to July 6, 2026, through face-to-face interviews with 2,400 respondents aged 18 and above nationwide.

They also reported that 89% of respondents expressed interest in the May 2028 elections, although only 19% had already chosen a complete slate of 12 senatorial candidates.

The national survey had a ±2 percentage point margin of error at a 95% confidence level. Subnational estimates for Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao each had a ±4 percentage point margin of error at the same confidence level. (Mary Elaine Virtucio, UP Cebu Comm Intern)