Philippines, Feb. 26 -- Eight senatorial candidates backed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. made it to the top 12 in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on voter preferences for the May 12 midterm elections.

The survey, commissioned by Stratbase Consultancy and conducted from Feb. 15 to 19, showed ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo (Lakas) at the top spot with 45 percent of voter support.

Senator Lito Lapid (Nationalist People's Coalition), also a part of the administration-aligned Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas, placed third at 36 percent.

The other administration-supported candidates in the probable winning circle are former Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III (NPC) with 34 percent, Senator Ramon "Bong" Revil...