MANILA — Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go on Wednesday placed 8th in a comprehensive nationwide survey for the senatoria l race, conducted by DZRH, the flagship station of the Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC).
The survey data, according to the company, was gathered through face-to-face interviews conducted on Nov. 17, Saturday, with 7,450 respondents – a sample that is statistically representative of voters in Metro Manila and 73 provinces nationwide with an error-margin of +/- 1.14 percent.
Go’s rank comes just a little over a month after he filed his candidacy, and barely a year after his name was first mentioned by his mentor, President Rodrigo Duterte, as a possible senate candidate.
He now emerges as one of the fastest rising senatorial candidates in the country.
Go runs on a platform based on “Malasakit” that aims to make government services more accessible to all Filipinos.
“Hindi dapat maging mahirap para sa mga Pilipino na makakakuha ng tulong. Ito ang aking ipaglalaban - na mapadali ang access ng tao sa mga benepisyo mula sa kanilang gobyerno. Ako ang tulay ninyo sa Pangulo,” Go said in past interviews.
Go’s full legislative agenda covers a wide swath of the country’s issues that the current administration is trying to address to uplift the quality of life of every Filipino. These range from providing free school supplies to poor students and increasing teachers’ pay for education, holding localized peace talks to remedy armed disputes, and proposing a department for OFWs created specifically for the concerns of Filipinos who work overseas.
Go, in recent interviews, said he will push for the legislative agenda of the President and will bring the fight for real and genuine change in the Senate.
“Kailangan ituloy ang pagbabago na sinimulan ng ating presidente,” he added.
Go has also been instrumental in pushing for the Malasakit Centers to make quality healthcare more accessible to Filipinos. There are currently 17 cities with existing centers — Cebu, Tacloban, Iloilo, Bacolod, Puerto Princesa, Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila, Maasin, Dumaguete, Davao, Pampanga, Tagbilaran, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Legazpi, and most recently launched in Isulan and Cotabato City.
Malasakit Centers are designed as a one-stop shop program of President Duterte to hasten the delivery of medical services and give poor patients access to free medicine, featuring a fast lane to prioritize senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Go has also recently been given the support of various groups, including the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), League of Municipalities of the Philippines, Philippine Councilors League, and other local government officials all over the country.
Go said he sees his years of experience working under then Mayor and now President Duterte as his strength in understanding and addressing the real problems of ordinary Filipinos.
“Marami akong sisilipin na mga batas, yung ibang batas na natutulog; kaya sabi ko mas kapa ko at alam ko ang nangyayari sa baba. Nasa executive ako for the past 20 years. Ramdam ko kung ano yung totoong napapatupad na batas. Akin itong sisilipin at i-improve kung sakaling palarin maging senador,” he said.
Other candidates who share the top-8 spot include Sen. Cynthia Villar, who emerged as the early leader with 61.8 and followed by Lito Lapid with 50.3 percent. Clustered together in the third to sixth spots are Sen. Grace Poe-Llamanzares, Taguig City Rep. Pia Cayetano, Sen. Nancy Binay, and former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr.
Vying for the seventh to 11th spots are former Senator Jinggoy Estrada, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, former Senator Sergio “Serge” Osmeña III, and retired Police National Police chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa. (PR)
