Estrada overtakes Villar; negative attacks take toll

OUSTED President Joseph Estrada overtook Senator Manuel Villar Jr. for second place in the presidential race, while frontrunner Benigno Aquino III maintained his lead, the latest Manila Standard survey showed.

Conducted between April 25 and 27, the survey asked 2,500 respondents to cast their votes for president, vice president and senators on a form similar to the official ballot that will be used on May 10.

The poll, with a margin of error of 2 percent, showed Aquino ahead nationwide with 38 percent, followed by Estrada with 22 percent and Villar with 20 percent. The margin of error meant Estrada and Villar were considered in a statistical tie, said Pedro Laylo Jr., resident pollster at the Manila Standard.

Administration bet Gilberto Teodoro Jr. maintained his 9-percent showing, while evangelist Eddie Villanueva edged up to 3 percent. Senator Richard Gordon had 2 percent, while the other candidates had less than 1 percent.

Laylo said the latest poll showed that the spate of negative news about Villar had hurt the Nacionalista Party standard bearer, costing him support from the poor voters that he had won from Estrada. In Metro Manila, Aquino’s support slipped one point to 37 percent from the previous week’s, while Estrada gained two points to 26 percent. Villar maintained his 13-percent share of the vote.

Aquino posted a three-point gain in North and Central Luzon, and largely at the expense of Estrada, who lost three points to 18 percent. Villar maintained his 25- percent share in the region.

In last week’s survey, Estrada also picked up points in Southern Luzon and the Bicol region, the Visayas and Mindanao, mostly at Villar’s expense.

Estrada moved ahead after he attacked Villar in a press conference, accusing him of pressuring Stock Exchange officials to approve the listing of his real estate company, Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. Despite the attack, the ousted leader still slid 5 points in his ratings from the high-income voters, and merely maintained his 20-percent support from the poor. Among the very poor, Estrada gained nine points, while Villar lost five points and Aquino lost two.–Manila Standard Today