Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte emerged as the frontrunner for President in the recent pre-election survey conducted by Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC) and its flagship news network DZRH ahead of the 2022 General Elections.

Duterte led the field of presidentiables garnering 25.4 percent of votes from survey respondents, followed by Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. with 17.7 percent.

Statistically tied for third to fifth place are Manila Mayor Franciso "Isko Moreno" Domagoso, 11.2 percent; Senator Grace Poe, 10 percent; and Senator Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquaio, 10 percent.

Vice-president Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo is in sixth place with 8.3 percent of votes.

Rounding up the list of presidentiables are Senators Christopher “Bong” Go and Panfilo "Ping" Lacson; former vice-president Jejomar “Jojo” Binay; Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano; former senator Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes; Senator Richard "Dick" Gordon; and former Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio.

Survey data was gathered through face-to-face interviews with 7,500 respondents, who are registered voters, in 37 barangays in Metro Manila and 263 barangays in provincial areas from July 24 to July 31 this year.

To ensure the quality and integrity of the pre-election survey, MBC contracted an independent third-party research firm that implemented protocols for the random selection of barangays, households, and respondents nationwide.

In survey research, random selection of respondents increases the likelihood that the results would reflect the actual sentiments of the greater population.

The margin of error of the results is +/- 1.13 percent at a 95 percent confidence interval.