Vice President Leni Robredo (Photo from VP Leni Robredo Facebook page)
MANILA – Vice President Leni Robredo is the top pick for the presidency based on the results of a recent survey by an organization of Catholic educational institutions in the country.
In a statement Tuesday, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) said Robredo got 1,624 or 52.57 percent out of a total of 3,089 responses from students, school heads and administrators, non-teaching personnel, alumni, and other staff with the corresponding age groups of 18-25, 26-35, 36-45, 46-55, and 56 and older.
The CEAP poll survey was conducted from January 24 to February 4.
In second place is former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. with 24.54 percent or 758 votes, followed by Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso with 9.61 percent or 297 votes, Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson with 3.53 percent or 109, Senator Manny Pacquiao with 0.87 percent or 27, labor leader Leody De Guzman with 0.26 percent or eight votes while abstentions are at 8.61 percent or 266.
The CEAP added that the survey was conducted during the height of issues in the Commission on Elections regarding the petitions for disqualification and cancelation of certificate of candidacy (COC) against Marcos.
During the first CEAP survey conducted before the deadline of the filing of COCs in October, Robredo received 45.16 percent of the votes while Marcos got 20.86 percent of the votes.
In all age groups, Robredo got the highest number of votes while across designations, she was the top pick by school heads/administrators, teaching personnel, non-teaching personnel, and other designation.
Meanwhile, Marcos topped the two remaining designations -- students and alumni.
Among the 17 CEAP regions, Robredo topped in 11 regions while Marcos was the top pick in five other regions. Pacquiao, meanwhile, was the leading candidate in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
On the other hand, Robredo’s running mate Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan topped the survey for the vice presidential race with 30.37 percent or 938 votes followed closely by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte with 26.84 percent or 829 votes.
The remaining votes went to Dr. Willie Ong with 14.28 percent or 441 votes, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III with 11.72 percent or 362 votes, former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza with 0.71 percent or 22 votes, and the abstain votes are significantly high with 16.09 percent or 497 votes.
For the senatorial race, the Top 12 senators selected by the respondents across age groups and designations are as follows:
-Chiz Escudero, 1,728 votes
-Risa Hontiveros, 1,569 votes
-Chel Diokno, 1,563 votes
-Win Gatchalian, 1,229 votes
-Migz Zubiri, 1,216 votes
-Loren Legarda, 1,117 votes
-Joel Villanueva, 1,065 votes
-Alan Peter Cayetano, 1,043 votes
-Dick Gordon, 1,042 votes
-Raffy Tulfo, 947 votes
-Antonio Trillanes IV, 857 votes
-Leila de Lima, 822 votes
It added that the survey provides the data needed by the association in its election-related programs and activities, such as the #VoteLove and CEAP Statement of Discernment.
CEAP is composed of more than 1,525 member-schools and over 120 superintendents of Catholic schools. (PNA)
