MANILA - Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has pulled away from the pack of presidential candidates while Rep. Leni Robredo and Sen. Bongbong Marcos are in a statistical tie in the vice-presidential race, according to the latest BusinessWorld-Social Weather Stations (SWS) pre-election survey.

Duterte, in the April 18-20 survey conducted after his controversial April 12 statement on the rape-slay of an Australian woman, saw his voter preference rating rise to 33%.

He had a 27% voter preference rating in an earlier BusinessWorld-SWS survey held March 30-April 2.

His nearest rival, Sen. Grace Poe, has a 24% voter preference rating, up one percentage point from previous poll.

Administration standard bearer Mar Roxas is in third place with 19%, while Vice-President Jejomar Binay dropped to fourth place with 14%.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago is in fifth spot with 2%.

The survey, which covered 1,800 validated voters, has an error margin of plus-minus 2 points.

ROBREDO SURGE

A significant development is the surge of Robredo in the vice-presidential race.

It showed the widow of the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo gaining seven percentage points with 26%, while erstwhile race leader Marcos has 25%.

Sen. Francis Escudero dropped to third place with 18%, followed by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano with 16%.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has 5%, while Sen. Gregorio Honasan II has a 2% voter preference rating in the vice-presidential race, the survey said.

SENATORIAL RACE

Reelectionist senators Franklin Drilon of the Liberal Party and Vicente Sotto III of the Nationalist People's Coalition are in the top two slots in the race for 12 upper House seats, according to the survey.

Boxer-politician Rep. Manny Pacquiao is in third place, followed by Francis Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Risa Hontiveros, Leila de Lima, Joel Villanueva, Sergio Osmena III, and Richard Gordon.

Reelectionist Sen. Ralph Recto and Valenzuela Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian are tied in the 12th-13th places, the survey said.