The latest Pulse Asia survey conducted early this month showed that if the May 2007 elections were held today, 17 senatorial candidates would have a statistical chance of winning a seat in the Philippine Senate. Of those in this group, eight belong to the “Genuine Opposition” while another one is a guest candidate of this political coalition, six are running under “Team Unity”, and two are independent candidates.
Pulse Asia explained that for this particular survey, respondents were asked to write down the names of their preferred candidates on a “ballot” and to drop this in a “ballot box” to simulate the act of voting. Additionally, some “spoiled ballots” were counted involving senatorial candidates with namesakes who are also running for the Philippines Senate, namely, Tarlac Representative Aquino (2%) and Taguig-Pateros Representative Cayetano (5%).