Duterte Senate bets surge in Pulse Asia poll after ex-president’s ICC arrest 

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Former aide and reelectionist Senator Bong Go takes solo first in the March 2025 preference surveys, while fellow reelectionist Ronald dela Rosa now ties Representative Erwin Tulfo for 2-3 rank 

MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial candidates endorsed by former president and International Criminal Court (ICC) suspect Rodrigo Duterte saw a surge in their saw their voters’ preference numbers following his transfer to The Hague to face crimes against humanity charges over his bloody drug war, according to a Pulse Asia Research, Incorporated survey released Friday, April 11. 

The survey is the first from the firm held after Duterte’s stunning arrest and subsequent transfer of custody to the ICC in the Netherlands. 

Conducted from March 23 to 29, the survey period also covers the gatherings were staged across the country and parts of the world to celebrate the 80th birthday of the infamous former Philippine president on March 28. 

Senator Bong Go, Duterte’s long-time aide, held solo first place, registering a voter preference of 61.9% — 10-percentage point higher administration bet ACT-CIS Representative Erwin Tulfo, at 51.1%. 

Tulfo, a broadcast journalst before he joined President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Cabinet and later, the 19th Congress, once held solo first in Pulse Asia preference surveys. He has since seen his numbers slip steadily, from 62.8% in January 2025 to 56.5% in February 2025. 

The full list of “probable winners” based on the Pulse Asia March 2025 survey are as follows:

• Senator Christopher Go (61.9%, solo 1st)
• ACT-CIS Representative Erwin Tulfo (51.1%, 2nd-3rd places)
• Senator Ronald dela Rosa (48.7%, 2nd-3rd places)
• Former Senate president Vicente Sotto III (44.2%, 4th place)
• Senator Pia Cayetano (37.5%, 5th to 10th places)
• Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. (36.9%, 5th to 11th places)
• Former senator Panfilo Lacson (36.0%, 5th to 11th places)
• Willie Revillame (35.7%, 5th to 12th places)
• Ben Tulfo (35.4%, 5th to 12th places)
• Makati City Mayor Marlen Abigail Binay (35.3%, 5th to 12th places)
• Senator Manuel Lapid (33.3%, 6th to 13th places)
• Former senator Emmanuel Pacquiao (32.0%, 8th to 16th places)
• Phillip Salvador (30.9%, 11th to 17th places)
• Las Piñas City Representative Camille Villar (29.0%, 12th to 18th places)
• Former senator Bam Aquino (28.6%, 12th to 18th places)
• SAGIP Representative Rodante Marcoleta (28.3%, 12th to 18th places)

Duterte bets’ gains; Marcos bets’ loses 

Go was not the only gainer from the nine-person Duterte slate, according to the Pulse survey. Fellow reelectionist Senator Ronald dela Rosa, Duterte’s police chief at the beginning of his drug war, saw his preference numbers rise by 4 percentage points to 48.7%, pushing him up to rank 2-3 in the March 2025 survey. 

In late January or weeks before the campaign period for national bets kicked off, Dela Rosa ranked a measly 7-14 (41.2%). This rose to 44.3% in February, enough to move him to 4-7 place.

While Go, Dela Rosa, and their fellow candidates in the Duterte slate have seen their numbers rise,  administration-backed Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas bets have experienced the opposite. 

Tulfo went down 10 percentage points from January 2025 to March 2025. 

Sotto, even as he remains ranked 4, saw a 6-percentage point drop, from 50.2% in January 2025 to 44.2% in March 2025. Even Cayetano’s and Revilla’s preference numbers slipped between January to March 2025 (from 46.1% to 37.5% for Cayetano, and from 46% to 36.9% for Revilla). 

With a +/-2 margin of error at the national level, any drop or rise that goes beyond 2 points could hurt for candidates in such a hotly-contested race. 

Other Duterte bets who saw their numbers rise enough to place them in the “probable winners’” circle include former action star and Duterte loyalist Phillip Salvador, who saw a 12.5-percentage point rise in his preference numbers, from a mere 18.4% in January 2025 to 30.9% in March 2025. Salvador now ranks 11-17 in the preference survey. 

Marcoleta was another huge gainer, going from 16.1% in January 2025 to 28.3% — another 12-percentage point rise. He now ranks 12-18 in the Pulse Asia survey. 

Former singer and Duterte appointee Jimmy Bondoc, who once only had 4.6% preference to show for in January 2025, is now ranked 19-22 with a 20.4% preference rating. 

But it’s presidential sister and reelectionist Senator Imee Marcos who seemingly had the most loss from January to March 2025. The Ilokana, who has since permanently withdrawn from the Alyansa slate, ranked 13-18 in the latest Pulse poll — just outside the statistically probable winners’ circle. It’s a far cry from the 4-12 rank she held in January 2025. 

The drop in her rank is because of a dramatic drop in her numbers — from 46.3% preference in January 2025 to 27.6% in March 2025. 

Independent candidates Aquino and Pangilinan, personalities associated with the once-ruling Liberal Party and the pink wave that challenged Marcos and Duterte’s 2022 run, have seen their numbers stay mostly the same from January 2025 to March 2025. 

Aquino, who is part of the winning circle in the March 2025 Pulse survey, registered 28.6% preference, a neglibible 1 percentage point rise from 27.4% in January 2025. Pangilinan, meanwhile, is just outside the winner’s circle with 26.8%, down from 29.1% in January 2025. 

Filipinos will be electing 12 senators in the 2025 polls. – Rappler.com