CROWD DRAWER Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. addresses a huge crowd in Tupi, South Cotabato.
CROWD DRAWER Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. addresses a huge crowd in Tupi, South Cotabato.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is the preferred vice presidential bet of Zambangueños, according to a non-commissioned survey conducted by the Issues and Advocacies Center.

In the Pulso ng Pilipino survey held from March 4 to 6, 29 percent of the respondents said they will vote for Marcos, while 23 percent chose Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero. Rep. Leni Robredo was third with 19 percent, while Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano got 14 percent.

Senators Antonio Trillanes 4th and Gregorio Honasan got 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Marcos was the top choice of voters whose ages ranged from 18 to 35, representing almost 40 percent of the respondents.

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For the presidency, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte topped the survey at 31 percent, followed by Sen. Grace Poe at 22 percent, Vice President Jejomar Binay, 19 percent and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, four percent.

The survey covered five towns in the first district of Zamboanga del Sur--Aurora, Labangan, Molave, Sominot and Tukuran--and in Pagadian City.

In the second district, the towns covered were Dinas, Dumalinao, Guipos, San Miguel and San Pablo.

The respondents were registered voters aged 18 to 65.

The survey had a margin of error of 3.5 percent.

On Wednesday, Marcos brought his Unity Caravan to Mindanao.

His first stop was General Santos City, where he held a motorcade.

He met with local officials led by Mayor Ronnel Rivera and City Councilors Jeng Gacal and Brix Tan at the Barangay Hall of Lagao.

Marcos and his supporters then proceeded to Palomolok town hall where he was welcomed by Mayor Honey Lumayag Matti.

The senator also visited the Tupi Municipal Hall.

In Koronadal City, the capital of South Cotabato (Region 12), Marcos met with local officials before holding a news conference at the nearby FB Hotel and Convention Center.

The senator proceeded to Tantangan before attending a colorful indigenous welcome at T’boli town.

Marcos has slowly inched his way to the top of vice presidential surveys.

In an ABS-CBN commissioned survey conducted from February 16 to 27, 2016 among 5,200 respondents aged 18 years and above, Marcos retained his lead at 26 percent.

He is tied with Escudero who obtained the same rating but whose ranking dropped by three percentage points from his score in an earlier Pulse Asia survey.

They were followed by Robredo at 18 percent, Cayetano, 13 percent, Honasan, six percent and Trillanes, five percent.

Marcos said he is thankful for the support he has been getting and he remains focused on getting his message of national unity across the country.

“We are happy with the way things are going for us but our focus is really on the campaign and getting more people to hear what we have to say and our plans for the country.

Hopefully, more people will get to accept our message of national unity,” he told reporters.

“It is difficult to react in every survey. We will just continue our plans and strategy.

However, the surveys are good indications that the people are receptive to our message of unity,” Marcos said.