MANILA— Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has emerged again as the Filipinos’ most preferred presidential candidate for next year’s national elections, a survey by Pulse Asia showed on Tuesday.

Duterte-Carpio is the first choice among 14 other candidates for the country’s top post with 28 percent, while sharing second place are Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso (14 percent), former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (13 percent), and Sen. Grace Poe (10 percent), the pollster said.

The Davao mayor, daughter of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte, earlier denied her intention to run as president next year but recently expressed openness. She topped the same Pulse Asia survey in April and in December last year.

• READ: ‘Everything will destroy me’: Sara Duterte says parents don’t want her to run for president
• READ: 'Let them be rejected': Trillanes says Duterte, Sara should both run in 2022 polls

Placing third were: Sen. Manny Pacquiao (8 percent), Vice President Leni Robredo (6 percent), and Sen. Ping Lacson (4 percent).

The least preferred candidates include Sen. Richard Gordon (0.3 percent), retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio (0.3 percent), ousted House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez (0.1 percent) and former defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro (0.1 percent).

The respondents’ second choices as president, should their first choice withdraw their candidacy, included Duterte-Carpio (16 percent), Poe (13 percent), Marcos (13 percent), and Pacquiao (12 percent).

Moreno led the most preferred presidential candidates in the capital region with 23 percent, followed by Marcos, 22 percent, and Duterte-Carpio with 16 percent.

Majority or 62 percent of respondents in Mindanao preferred for the President’s daughter to succeed him as chief executive, followed by Pacquiao and Poe who garnered 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

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Pulse Asia asked the question: Of the people on this list, whom would you vote for as president of the Philippines if the May 2022 elections were held today?

Marcos, namesake son of the late dictator, was the most preferred candidate in Balance Luzon with 18 percent, followed by Moreno with 15 percent.

The Marcoses hold a bulwark of supporters in their home province Ilocos Norte.

Pulse Asia’s latest non-commissioned survey was conducted between June 7 and 16, and had 2,400 respondents.

The poll has a ± 2 percent error margin at the 95-percent confidence level, it said.

DUTERTE, MORENO LEAD MOST PREFERED VICE PRESIDENTIAL BETS

The survey indicated that President Rodrigo Duterte and Moreno are locked head-to-head as the respondents’ top choice as vice president in next year’s elections with 18 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

Placing in second place were Senate President Vicente Sotto III (10 percent), Marcos (10 percent), Pacquiao (9 percent), ousted House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano (8 percent), and Sorsogon Gov. Francis Escudero (7 percent).

During his weekly taped address to the nation on Monday, Duterte said floating the idea of running for vice president in the upcoming national elections is merely a tactic, even as he acknowledged being open to the idea.

• READ: ‘Panakot lang sa kanila iyan’: Duterte says floating idea of VP run just a tactic

Duterte, who is not eligible to run again for the country's top post, is being urged by some of his partymates at PDP-Laban to seek the vice presidency next year while his daughter could run for president.

Duterte-Carpio earlier denied plans for her to run in tandem with her father in next year's elections.

Earlier, former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said administration bets could still lose next year because Filipinos are clamoring for change.

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