Grace Poe tops anew over other presidential

contenders in latest Pulse Asia survey

                                          Presidential Frontrunner Senator Grace Poe

Sen. Grace Poe was the top choice among the respondents in the latest Pulse Asia survey on presidential candidates while her rivals from the Liberal Party and the United Nationalist Alliance were statistically tied for third place.

According to the results of the survey, commissioned and first released by ABS-CBN, 28 percent of 2,600 respondents across the Philippines would have voted for Poe had the elections been held in the first week of March. Poe's score was up two percentage points since the Feb. 16-27 Pulse Asia Survey, where she was statistically tied with UNA bet Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Binay scored three points lower, 21 percent, in the March survey, putting him in third place with LP standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II, who got 20 percent. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte retained his spot at second place, but was up two points at 24 percent since February.

A Social Weather Stations survey conducted from March 4 to 7 and released Monday also had Poe in the lead with 27 percent, up from 24 percent. Binay got 24 percent - down five percentage points from 29 percent - while Roxas received a score of 22 percent, putting the two statistically at par.

Lawyer Rico Quicho, UNA spokesperon, said that "the core support of the vice president remains solid." He added that Binay "will continue to go around the country to cover more ground and directly talk to the people."

The Pulse Asia survey was conducted before the Supreme Court ruled that Poe was qualified to run for president but after the Nationalist People's Coalition announced it would support her and running mate Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero in the May elections.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago was picked by 3 percent of respondents, while 5 percent of them said they did not support any of the candidates.

"Senator Poe is the top choice for president in the rest of Luzon (36 percent) while former DILG Secretary Roxas leads in the Visayas (37 percent). As for Mindanaoans, they are most supportive of the presidential bid of Davao City Mayor Duterte (47 percent). In Metro Manila, the top picks for president are Senator Poe (30 percent), Davao City Mayor Duterte (23 percent), and Vice President Binay (23 percent)," Pulse Asia said in a media release on Tuesday afternoon.

Asked who they would vote for should their first choice drops out of the May elections, 29 percent of respondents said they would vote for Poe. Vice President Binay was the second choice for 21 percent of respondents while Roxas and Duterte both received scores of 14 percent.

Less than 1 percent picked Santiago as their alternative candidate while 14 percent said they did not have one. Philippine Star