A month before the May midterm elections, the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte may have lifted some senatorial candidates in Friday's Pulse Asia survey.

Re-electionist Senators Bong Go maintained his lead over ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Erwin Tulfo, who tied Senator Ronald Dela Rosa for second in the battle for 12 slots in the election.

Actor Philip Salvador tied for 11th to 17th and SAGIP Partylist Rep. Rodante Marcoleta is tied 12th to 18th place.

Re-electionist Senator Imee Marcos, who held three Senate hearings on Duterte's arrest, is tied 13th to 18th places.

Eight administration candidates have kept their hold on to their positions.

In a television interview, Pulse Asia President Ronald Holmes said that the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte on March 11 may have caused the rise in voter preference for pro-Duterte candidates, along with a drop in voter preference for administration candidates.

"It's hard to measure sympathy for a particular group, like the Dutertes, but we can say that their base has solidified. Before, their group was passive and voted for a variety of candidates, but because of what happened, they've let go of their support for candidates who are not their allies. They're now only voting for their allied candidates," Holmes explained.

Duterte was arrested on March 11 and brought to the International Criminal Court at The Hague to face charges on alleged crimes against humanity.

Holmes described the battle for senatorial slots is ''quite tight''.

In a message to the Daily Manila Shimbun on Viber, Holmes said '' we are seeing larger clusters of tied candidates from fifth to 12th.''

''Duterte arrrest reactivated erstwhile passive supporters,'' added Holmes.

Tied from fifth to 12th are Senators Pia Cayetano and Ramon Revilla Jr., former senator Ping Lacson, media personalities Willie Revillame and Ben Tulfo, and Makati Mayor Abby Binay. Former Senator Manny Pacquiao ranked eighth.

Las Pinas City Representative Camille Villar and former senator Bam Aquino, tied with Marcoleta in 12th to 18th place.

The survey, conducted from March 23 to 29, 2025 had 2,400 randomly selected Filipino adult participants nationwide, with a plus minus two margin of error. Yzabela Velez-White/DMS