Many senatorial hopefuls of diverse political persuasions are scaling down their election plans in 2010 because of poor ratings in recent surveys.
One of them, Gina de Venecia, has dropped her plan to run for senator under the opposition banner after a Pulse Asia survey conducted May 14-17 showed that only 12.7 percent of Filipinos would vote for her, placing her in the 20th-31st slots.
She is now eyeing a congressional seat in the Fourth District of Pangasinan, which is now represented by her husband, former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.
Renegade Army Gen. Danilo Lim placed only 39th-59th in the nationwide poll while Grace Poe, daughter of the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., ranked 32nd-48th.
Senatorial aspirants from leftist groups also fared dismally in the Pulse Asia survey. Party-list Reps. Satur Ocampo, Rizza Hontiveros-Baraquel, Teodoro Casiño, Erin Tanada and Liza Maza all landed outside the first 30 slots in the survey. This could dent the plan of the leftist party-list organizations (Bayan Muna, Anak Pawis and Gabriela) to capture at least three senatorial seats. Many of the incumbent representatives from leftist organizations have served a maximum of three terms and are ineligible to run for reelection.
Topping the senatorial survey was Senator Manuel Roxas II with a score of 49.5 percent, followed by Jinggoy Estrada (46), Pilar Juliana Cayetano (43.5), Miriam Defensor Santiago (43), Ramon Revilla Jr. (41.4) and Maria Ana Consuelo Madrigal (40.9). But Roxas is running for the presidency while Santiago said she prefers to go on a sabbatical leave from politics due to her health condition.
The others who scored high in the Pulse Asia poll were former Senate President Franklin Drilon (38.7), Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto (36.2), Aquilino Pimentel III (31.9), Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay (30.5), former Senator Vicente Sotto (29.8), Sergio Osmeña III (29.4), Senator Richard Gordon (25.4) and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile (25.1).
Except for Recto, who is a former senator, prospective senatorial bets from the Cabinet were nowhere near the winning distance. Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, with a score of 6 percent, was ranked 32th-42nd; Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, 32nd-48th; Health Secretary Francisco Duque, 33rd-51st; Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, 42nd-50th; and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority director general Augusto Syjuco, 44th-61st.
Disappointed by his survey rating, Yap has revised his election plan by running for a congressional seat in Bohol instead.
High-profile actor and television show host Edu Manzano, chairman of the Optical Media Board, garnered 21.4 percent, and was ranked 13th to 19th.
Broadcaster Ted Faylon of ABS-CBN garnered 20.4 percent with a ranking of 14th to 19th while another broadcaster, Arnold Clavio of GMA-7, got only 6.2 with a ranking of 32nd to 42nd. –Fel V. Maragay, Manila Standard Today
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
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