Abbey M.

Senator Christopher "Bong" Go leads the list of preferred candidates for vice president in the upcoming 2028 elections.

The latest results of the Pulse Asia survey showed that a majority of Filipinos prefer Senator Bong Go as vice presidential candidate, garnering 27 %.

Senator Robin Padilla placed second with 21 %.

Senator Bam Aquino and former Senator Grace Poe tied for third place, both getting 14 %.

Senator Erwin Tulfo got 9 percent, Senator Kiko Pangilinan got 4 %, and MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre III got 0.5 %.

Meanwhile, the same survey also showed that a large portion of Filipinos are interested in the upcoming 2028 elections.

89 % of Filipinos said they are truly interested in the 2028 elections, while 30 % are somewhat interested, 3 % are not interested, and 8 % are undecided.

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Manila, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte once again leads the list of preferred presidential candidates for the May 2028 elections.

Based on the results of the latest Pulse Asia survey conducted from June 28 to July 3, and on July 6, 2026, 49% of Filipinos said they are in favor of VP Sara running as the next president.

She is followed by former Vice President and now Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo, who got 26%, while Senator Raffy Tulfo placed third with 14%.

Also included in the survey results for preferred presidential candidates are DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who each got 1%, while MMDA General Manager Nicholas Torre III got 0.1%.

Pulse Asia Research clarified that its Ulat ng Bayan survey was conducted "independently" and was not commissioned by any political party.

It also stressed that the survey process was not influenced by any religious, political, economic, or any partisan group.

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Senator-Judge Raffy Tulfo asked for the equal implementation of the two-minute questioning period for senator-judges during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

He insisted that some senators were able to speak beyond their allotted time, while the bell was immediately sounded once he reached two minutes.

"Bakit pag sa kabila pinapayagan sila 5 10 minutes? Bakit pag sa amin sa majority kina-cut agad ni Remind pagdating ng bago pagdating ng 2 minutes? I think nakakahalata na kami. So dapat pag sinabing 2 minutes, 2 minutes. Pag sa amin sa majority pag 2 minutes pinipindot ng pinipindot nito dalawa tatlong beses. Totoo 'yan. Pero pag majority umaabot na ng 5 minutes 10 minutes at meron akong record diyan pinapayagan. Why?"

[Why is it that on the other side, they're allowed 5 to 10 minutes? Why is it that for us in the majority, we're immediately cut off before even reaching 2 minutes? I think we're being singled out. So if it's said to be 2 minutes, it should be 2 minutes. For us in the majority, once it hits 2 minutes, the bell is pressed two, three times. That's true. But the majority reaches 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and I have that on record, being allowed. Why?]

In response, Presiding Officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero clarified that there is no distinction between a majority and minority bloc within the impeachment court.

“The Chair would like to point out that in the impeachment court there is no majority or minority. We are all senator judges"

Senate impeachment court Presiding Officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero instructed court officials to strictly implement the two-minute time limit for all senator-judges.

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The request of Vice President Sara Duterte's office to the Senate may be misconstrued as disrespectful, particularly its plea for the Senate to shoulder or answer for the food and beverage expenses of her defense team amid the ongoing impeachment trial.

The Office of the Vice President wants the Senate to answer for the expenses incurred by the defense team for food, beverage, and catering services accredited by their office.

Reacting to this, House Deputy Speaker and Iloilo Representative Janette Garin noted that the request could be misinterpreted as a lack of respect toward the Senate, considering that the proceedings are being held before an impeachment court.

"Ito ay isang impeachment court. It can be also misconstrued, of course with due courtesy sa senate impeachment court, sila ang dapat sumagot niyan pero as a bystander kumbaga, pwede kasi siyang ma-misinterpret na disrespect sa korte and in this case, the senate." Rep. Garin said.

[This is an impeachment court. It can also be misconstrued — of course, with due courtesy to the Senate impeachment court, they are the ones who should answer that, but as a bystander, so to speak, it could be misinterpreted as disrespect to the court, and in this case, the Senate.]

The Office of the Vice President has requested that the Senate cover these costs through its accredited catering service for the duration of the trial.

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On the ninth day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Senator-Judge Robin Padilla asked the House prosecution to avoid being "one-sided" or biased in the proceedings.

Senator Padilla made the statement while questioning the credibility of some prosecution witnesses, including officials of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), as well as the use of the affidavit of Arturo Lascañas, which he said contained conflicting statements and could therefore be considered unreliable.

"Sana hindi one-sided ang ating persekusyon." Senator-Judge Padilla said.

[I hope our prosecution will not be one-sided.]

In a statement after the hearing, Senator Padilla clarified that his reference to being "one-sided" pertained to the need for the discussion of issues in the impeachment trial to be fair and balanced.

He stressed that he was simply asking for fairness in the treatment not only of witnesses but also of the senator-judges involved in matters related to the trial.

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