MANILA, Philippines — The tandem of former vice president and Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo and Sen. Raffy Tulfo led the pairing of Vice President Sara Duterte and Sen. Imee Marcos in a survey conducted by OCTA Research.
In the Tugon ng Masa first quarter survey conducted from March 19-25, 2026, the pairing of Robredo and Tulfo got 44 percent voter preference, as opposed to 40 percent for a Duterte-Marcos tandem.
OCTA said that the 4-point lead should be viewed cautiously given the survey's margin of error of plus or minus three percent.
"The findings nevertheless indicate a significantly more competitive tandem landscape entering 2026," OCTA said.
The Robredo-Tulfo tandem was strong in the National Capital Region at 61 percent and Balanced Luzon at 57 percent. In Visayas, it got 48 percent.
The Duterte-Marcos tandem, on the other hand, leads overwhelmingly in Mindanao at 86 percent.
"The Visayas and Balance Luzon are emerging as critical electoral battlegrounds likely to shape the eventual balance of the race," OCTA said.
The pollster stressed that the results " reflected an early-stage hypothetical preference measure and should be interpreted as a snapshot of current public sentiment, not a prediction of electoral outcomes."
"As political conditions evolve—through candidate positioning, alliances, national issues, and campaign dynamics—these preferences may shift significantly," OCTA added.
The survey had 1200 respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.
