By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan
4Ps Party-list secured the top spot in the latest Philippine Public Opinion Monitor (PPOM) ahead of the May 12, 2025 elections, with Uswag Ilonggo breaking into the national top 10 and leading in the Visayas region.
The third PPOM for 2025, conducted from April 23 to 30 among more than 2,000 Filipino respondents, showed 4Ps leading with 10.5 percent of the vote, followed by Duterte Youth at 7.4 percent.
Rounding out the national top 10 were ACT-CIS (4.5 percent), Solid North (3.6 percent), Tingog (3.5 percent), Ako Bicol (2.9 percent), Kabataan (2.7 percent), Uswag Ilonggo (2.4 percent), and FPJ Panday Bayanihan (2.3 percent).
Party-lists ranked 11 to 20 included LPGMA (2.1 percent), Pinoy Workers (2.0 percent), United Senior Citizens (1.9 percent), Asenso Pinoy and SBP (1.7 percent each), 4K and Nanay (1.6 percent each), Kalinga (1.5 percent), BHW and TUPAD (1.4 percent each), and Agimat (1.3 percent).
Uswag Ilonggo, ranking ninth nationwide, topped the Visayas poll with 14 percent, followed by Tingog with 10 percent.
Other high-performing groups in the Visayas included ACT-CIS and Ako Bisaya (7 percent each), 4Ps (6 percent), United Senior Citizens and BHW (4 percent each), APEC, Abang Lingkod, and Duterte Youth (3 percent each), and ACT Teachers and Ang Probinsyano (2 percent each).
Gary Dionisio, dean of the School of Diplomacy and Governance at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, said many top-ranking party-lists gained support through cash aid distribution programs and strategic use of celebrity endorsers.
He cited the Tulfo brothers for ACT-CIS, Jericho Rosales for Ako Bicol, Maja Salvador for Solid North, Coco Martin for FPJ Panday Bayanihan, and Karla Estrada for Tingog as examples of effective “face politics.”
“The use of social media influencers and celebrities helps political parties connect with voters,” Dionisio said during the May 6 PPOM briefing. “It shifts attention from platforms to personalities—a prominent strategy today.”
He also noted the rise of regional party-lists such as Tingog, Ako Bicol, Solid North, and Uswag Ilonggo, which tend to dominate their local bases but have limited national reach.
Their rise, Dionisio added, is often supported by political dynasties using party-lists as an alternative electoral path.
“Some political dynasties form party-lists when local positions become too contested,” he said.
Dionisio also explained the unique position of 4Ps and Duterte Youth in the survey, with 4Ps benefiting from being first on the ballot and Duterte Youth drawing support from its association with former President Rodrigo Duterte.
He added that other Duterte-aligned groups, such as Malasakit@Bayanihan and PPP, have seen declining support as Duterte Youth consolidates their voter base.
