OPPOSITION candidates emerged as Thomasians’ top Senate picks for the 2019 midterm elections, a survey conducted by student publications in UST showed.
Otso Diretso bets Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno and Samira Gutoc led the survey, chosen by 75 and 67 percent of respondents, respectively.
The survey had 532 respondents from randomly selected sections in 13 out of 21 colleges in the University. The respondents were asked to choose up to 12 names from a list of 62 candidates for senator.
Diokno, the son of staunch Martial Law critic and senator Pepe Diokno, is human rights lawyer who had served as inaugural dean of De La Salle University’s College of Law.
Moro civic leader Gutoc is a women’s and children’s rights advocate from the war-torn city of Marawi.
Former Bayan Muna partylist representative Neri Colmenares placed third, obtaining 55 percent. He was followed by Grace Poe, who is seeking a second term in the Senate. Poe got 45 percent.
Former solicitor general and UST economics alumnus Florin Hilbay placed fifth with 43 percent.
Other candidates in the top 12 were Otso Diretso bets Paulo Benigno Aquino IV with 40 percent, former Interior secretary Manuel Roxas II with 33 percent, former House deputy speaker Erin Tañada with 30 percent, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano with 27 percent and election lawyer Romulo Macalintal with 26 percent.
Former senator Pia Cayetano from administration-backed Hugpong ng Pagbabago, got 22 percent.
Partidong Lakas ng Masa bet Ka Leody de Guzman also made it to the top 12, with 20 percent of respondents behind him.
Only about a quarter or 24 percent of the respondents were registered voters, while more than half or 56 percent were not registered. Twenty percent of respondents did not answer the question.
The survey was conducted by the Varsitarian, UST’s official student paper and the Flame, the official student publication of the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters, from May 3 to 8.
[…] The Varsitarian reports more details about the survey: […]