A one-term senator facing disqualification regained her lead in the Philippines’ presidential race ahead of the start of the official campaign period, a survey showed yesterday.
The survey conducted by Pulse Asia Research Inc in the final week of January gave Senator Grace Poe 30% of voters’ preferences.
Vice President Jejomar Binay was in second place with 23%. Ruling party candidate Mar Roxas and Rodrigo Duterte, mayor of the southern city of Davao, were tied at 20%.
Poe had dropped to second place in the December survey following her disqualification by the Elections Commission due to questions over her citizenship.
The 47-year-old senator has appealed the disqualification with the Supreme Court, which has yet to issue a decision.
She called the latest survey “both overwhelming and humbling.”
“It echoes the voice of the people who trust and believe in my capacity to be a leader no matter what hurdles are thrown my way,” she said.
Poe was abandoned as a baby on the steps of a church in the central city of Iloilo, and was adopted by a late Filipino action movie star. The identities of her biological parents are not known.
She renounced her citizenship in 2001 to reside in the US with her husband, but later returned and became a dual citizen.
The official campaign period for candidates is schedule to start on Tuesday.
More than 18,000 positions are up for grabs in the May 9 general elections, including president, vice president, senators, congressional representatives, provincial governors, city and town mayors and vice mayors.