Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque questioned on Monday the qualification of "senatoriables" topping a survey.

Roque made the statement following a latest poll by Pulse Asia where he ranked 29th to 36th places, with a voters' preference of 7.7 percent.

"Well, it doesn’t come as a surprise. In this country, it’s the children of the senators, those who have been in politics who stand a very good chance of being re-elected. So nothing has changed," he said.

Roque, believed to be running in the 2019 senatorial polls, said he is just an ordinary human being.

"I don’t belong to any political family. I’m not rich. I’m not surprised. Like everyone else, democracy in the Philippines can be very expensive and depends on who your parents are," he said.

Asked what could be the qualification of a senator, he said, "First of all, you should know the law so that you will know the bill that you will push."

Roque, a lawyer by profession, said the voters should choose based on the policy being pushed by an individual and not based on fame.

But he said there is still hope, just like what happened to President Rodrigo Duterte who was not very famous when he ran for the presidency.

In the recent survey, almost all those included in the top 12 were re-electionists, belong to families of politicians or from show business.

Senator Grace Poe has been leading the survey. Celerina Monte/DMS