Lacson, Zubiri, Ople ‘most shared’ Senate bets

MANILA, Philippines – Former senators Panfilo Lacson and Juan Miguel Zubiri and overseas Filipino workers’ welfare advocate Maria Susana Ople have emerged as the “most shared” senatorial candidates in the May 2016 elections.

They are in the Senate tickets of three presidential aspirants.

Lacson is part of the senatorial slate of Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II. But Vice President Jejomar Binay and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte have adopted him in their tickets.

However, Lacson has said he was supporting the candidacy of Roxas and would “campaign for and with him.”

Zubiri and Ople are in the slates of Binay, Duterte and Sen. Grace Poe.

Zubiri, who is running as an independent, attributed his strong survey showing to his being a guest candidate of three presidential aspirants.

In the Dec. 4 to 11 Pulse Asia survey of senatorial preferences, Zubiri came out as the fifth most favored candidate, with 55.9 percent voter support.

As for Ople, daughter of the late Senate president Blas Ople, she was in 24th place in the same survey.

Next to Lacson, Zubiri and Ople, eight other senatorial aspirants are common candidates of any two presidential hopefuls.

Sen. Ralph Recto is a common candidate of Roxas and Poe, while Sen. Vicente Sotto III and former senator Richard Gordon are in the tickets of Poe and Binay.

Reps. Roman Romulo of Pasig City, Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna and ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Samuel Pagdilao are common candidates of Poe and Duterte, while Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez is a shared candidate of Binay and Duterte. – With Eva Visperas