Sara Duterte still leads 2028 presidential preference list: Pulse Asia

MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte kept her position as the leading candidate for the 2028 presidential race, a September survey by Pulse Asia released Monday suggested.

Duterte has emerged as the early favorite for the 2028 presidential elections based on surveys by Pulse Asia and other polling firms.

Pulse Asia’s September survey showed that Duterte, who in February expressed intention to run for the top post in the May 2028 polls, was the preferred presidential candidate of half or 50 percent of Filipino adults.

The survey was conducted and released amid Duterte’s impeachment trial in the Senate. If convicted, she will be stripped of the vice presidency and permanently barred from elected office. 

Duterte on Monday said allegations of unexplained wealth thrown against her were connected to the 2028 elections.

Meanwhile, Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo was the second choice for president in the survey at 26 percent, while Sen. Raffy Tulfo came in third at 12 percent.

Robredo has so far shunned calls for her to return to national politics and has said she intends to seek a second mayoral term.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who signified her willingness to run in the next polls in multiple occasions, received a 3 percent score.

Other personalities in the survey included the following. 

• Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (1 percent)
• Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon (1 percent)
• Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong (0.3 percent)

Duterte’s support from Mindanao, as expected, “is almost universal,” the opinion pollster said, noting that “huge pluralities to big majorities” in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and across socioeconomic classes also expressed support for the vice president.

“Practically the same percentages of those in the rest of Luzon are inclined to vote for either Naga City Mayor Robredo (36 percent) or the Vice-President (28 percent),” it said.

Pulse Asia noted that only three percent of Filipino adults were undecided regarding their choice for president and another three percent were not inclined to support any possible presidential bet.

The survey was conducted from Sept. 17 to 24, 2026 using face-to-face interviews of 2,400 adults. It has a ±2 percent margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level.