MANILA, Philippines – If the senatorial elections were to be held in the second week of December, Senators Cynthia Villar and Grace Poe would have topped the race, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey for the senatorial race has showed.

In a survey conducted from Dec. 16 to 19, the SWS said Villar obtained a voter preference of 62 percent, getting an estimate of over 37 million votes, followed closely by Poe, who obtained 60 percent of votes or equivalent to about 36.4 million votes.

The poll had a margin of error of +- 3 percent for national percentages which made the two senators considered as statistically tied for the top spot.

Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano, re-electionist Senators Sonny Angara and Nancy Binay shared the third to fifth places, all obtaining 40 percent of the votes.

Actor and former senator Lito Lapid landed on the sixth spot obtaining 38 percent of voters, followed by former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. with 35 percent voter preference.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III and former senator Jinggoy Estrada tied at the eighth and ninth places, both with 34 percent voter preference.

Former Interior secretary Mar Roxas landed at 10th place with 28 percent voter preference, followed closely by Ilocos Governor Imee Marcos with 27 percent voter preference.

Entering the “Magic 12” is re-electionist Senator JV Ejercito who placed 12th with a voter preference of 28 percent, obtaining over 15,000 votes.

The SWS survey showed that re-electionist Senator Bam Aquino dropped out of the top 12, tying with former Senator Serge Osmeña at the 13th and 14th places.

Meanwhile, former Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go placed 14th to 15th, tying with former Bureau of Corrections and Philippine National Police head Ronald dela Rosa.

Tied at the 17th and 18th rank is former Presidential Political Affairs Adviser Francis Tolentino and former Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile, who both obtained 16 percent voter preference.

The polling body listed 63 candidates for the survey. /muf