PRRD’s support helps Robin Padilla lead Senate race

MANILA – Actor Robin Padilla topping this year’s senatorial race came as a surprise, a political analyst said Tuesday.

During the “Hatol ng Bayan 2022” program aired on state-run PTV-4, OCTA Research fellow Ranjit Rye said they could not tell the exact reason why Padilla managed to be the top choice among senatorial candidates.

“Mahirap. Pinag-aaralan din namin kasi sa aming survey, hindi ho siya ang lumabas na (It’s difficult to say. We are still studying because based on our pre-election surveys, he did not emerge as) number one but he was on the top 10,” said Rye, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines.

Padilla continued to lead the senatorial race, according to the partial and unofficial count of votes released by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).

As of 8:17 p.m. Tuesday, Padilla garnered 26,385,249 votes, based on the data from PPCRV.

Padilla was followed by House Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda, who is eyeing a return to the Senate, with 23,939,235 votes, and broadcaster Raffy Tulfo, with 23,123,060 votes.

Rye admitted that OCTA Research is expecting either Legarda or Tulfo to be the top pick in the senatorial race.

He said several factors, including Padilla’s popularity and “strong” support from President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, have helped the actor lead the senatorial race.

“I believe maraming (there are many) factors contributed to his win. He was very strongly supported by the administration, by the President. He was also strongly supported by other candidates,” Rye said. “He’s also an actor. He’s very popular.”

Rye added that Padilla, as a Muslim, is “very well-respected in his community.”

He also said Padilla’s message to the public also “resonates apparently with a lot of people.”

“That is also added to his votes. So, there are many reasons why Robin Padilla shot up to number one,” he said.