Gen Z splits on 2028 VP pick, boomers favor Raffy Tulfo

Younger and older Filipino adults favor different vice presidential candidates for 2028, a Momentum Research survey showed, with Gen Z split among five names and Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation favoring Sen. Raffy Tulfo.

Tulfo leads the national field at 24.5%, 10 percentage points ahead of Sen. Robin Padilla at 14.5%, according to the pollster’s Oct. 22 release on its August survey.

Among Gen Z adults, Padilla ranked first at 16.7%, followed by Tulfo at 14.9%, Sen. Bong Go at 13.1%, Sen. Bam Aquino at 12.6%, and Sen. Risa Hontiveros at 10.9%.

Aquino and Hontiveros each drew their highest share of any generation among Gen Z, at 12.6% and 10.9%, respectively. Aquino did not exceed 5.9% in any other group, and Hontiveros did not exceed 7.6%.

Tulfo drew 34.4% among Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation, the highest figure for any candidate in any generation in the survey.

That group also had the largest share of adults who were unsure or declined to answer, at 23.5%, compared with 12.2% for both Gen Z and Gen X and 5.9% for Millennials.

Tulfo also ranked first among Millennials at 26.4% and Gen X at 29.7%. Go placed second among Millennials at 17.2%, while Go, Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, and Padilla were bunched between 11.6% and 12.6% among Gen X.

Momentum Research said margins of error are larger for generational subgroups, particularly those with smaller samples. The release did not publish sample sizes or margins of error for each generation.

Tulfo’s lead widens

Tulfo’s support rose 6.2 percentage points, from 18.3% in the July survey to 24.5% in August.

He also led in July, but his edge over Go, then in second place at 16.2%, was 2.1 points.

Go fell 2.7 points to 13.5% and dropped to third place, while Padilla gained 1 point to 14.5% and moved into second.

Former Sen. Kiko Pangilinan recorded the largest decline, from 8.0% to 3.4%, a drop of 4.6 points.

Aquino fell 1.4 points to 7.7%, tying Hontiveros, who slipped 0.3 points from 8.0%.

The share of adults who were unsure or declined to answer rose from 9.5% to 11.6%.

Regional and faction splits

Tulfo led in Metro Manila at 26.4%, the Rest of Luzon at 31.3%, and the Visayas at 26.8%, but drew only 8.0% in Mindanao.

In Mindanao, preferences were split mainly between Go at 25.8% and Padilla at 25.6%.

In the Visayas, Go was next at about 15%, followed by Hontiveros at 12.9% and Aquino at 12.7%. The margin of error for the Visayas is ±5.8 percentage points.

Visayas adults were the least likely to be unsure or decline to answer, at 7%, compared with 14% in Mindanao, 13% in the Rest of Luzon, and 9% in Metro Manila.

Among adults who identify as Marcos supporters, 38.9% chose Tulfo.

Among Duterte supporters, Padilla drew 26.7% and Go 25.4%.

Among Pro-Opposition adults, Hontiveros led at 30.6%, followed by Tulfo at 26.1% and Aquino at 23.7%.

Tulfo drew 28.6% among Independents, who made up 45.5% of the sample. Of Independents, 13.7% were unsure or declined to answer, the highest share among the factions.

Candidates’ plans

Tulfo said on March 2 that he has no plans to run for president or vice president, now or in the future, and said on May 5 that he will seek re-election to the Senate in 2028, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

Aquino said in February that he will not run for vice president in 2028, Interaksyon reported.

Padilla has said he would consider running for vice president only if former President Rodrigo Duterte asked him to, Interaksyon reported.

Vice President Sara Duterte declared on Feb. 18 that she will run for president in 2028. She has said she has chosen a running mate but has not named the person.

Momentum Research said that, as of its writing, no public official has expressed an intention to run for vice president.

The non-commissioned National Momentum Survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,487 Filipino adults from Aug. 18 to 23. Its national margin of error is ±2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Subnational margins of error are ±6.9 percentage points for the National Capital Region, ±3.8 for the Rest of Luzon, ±5.8 for the Visayas, and ±5.5 for Mindanao, all at a 95% confidence level.

The July survey interviewed 1,438 adults from July 13 to 16.