Noynoy, Gibo top picks in MBC poll of members

As shown in other surveys, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd took a commanding lead in a poll conducted by the Makati Business Club of its members—but the surprising second choice was Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro. Aquino is the presidential candidate of the Liberal Party, while Teodoro—his cousin—is with the administration’s Lakas-Kampi Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD).

In the survey, Makati Business Club members were asked: “Who among the candidates running in the 2010 elections would you prefer to see as the next Philippine President and Vice President,” according to a press statement dated December 18 but given to reporters only on Sunday.

No list of candidates was provided to prompt the respondents. The survey was conducted from December 8 to 18, after the deadline for filing of certificates of candidacy, according to the statement.

In the survey, 61 percent of the club’s members prefer Aquino and 14 percent were for Teodoro. Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr. of the Nacionalista Party was third with 7 percent, followed by Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon of Bagumbayan, 4 percent, and by former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada of Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) 1 percent.

Some 14 percent of those surveyed were undecided.

Nearly 13 percent of the Makati Business Club’s total membership participated in the mailed survey, the statement said. About 85 percent of the respondents are Filipinos, and more than 7 percent are foreigners. Around 8 percent of the remaining respondents failed to indicate their nationalities.

Vice presidential race
The Liberals had a more commanding lead in the vice presidential race, with Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas 2nd receiving 78 percent, according to the statement.

He was followed by Bayani Fernando (running mate of Gordon) with 10 percent; Sen. Loren Legarda (running mate of Villar) 3 percent; Mayor Jejomar Binay of Makati City (running mate of Estrada) 1 percent; actor Edu Manzano (running mate of Teodoro) also 1 percent.

About 7 percent of the Makati Business Club members polled were undecided, according to the statement.

In the Philippines, the president and vice president are elected separately.

Top issues
Also according to the statement, the business club members were asked to identify the top three issues that they believe the next administration should immediately address.

Corruption was the choice of 79 percent of the members, followed by peace and order (35 percent) and infrastructure development (24 percent).

Other important issues mentioned were the economy (20 percent), poverty (17 percent) and the fiscal deficit (15 percent), the statement added.

Focus on poverty
In a related development also on Sunday, Gilbert Teodoro released a statement saying he vows to prioritize economic programs aimed at helping “the poor graduate out of poverty.”

He added that his platform of government was focused on battling poverty by creating, among other things, greater opportunities for small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs and opening the poor access to loans on less burdensome conditions.

At the minimum, Teodoro said that his goal was to have “at least one college graduate in every family.”

He added that Lakas-Kampi has a program to expand public health services and to achieve sustainable development that respects the rights of citizens.

“The only way to stop the exploitation of the poor by politicians is to make the poor affluent,” said Teodoro. “The government must capacitate them and ensure that the poor graduate out of poverty.”

He added, “Affluence buys knowledge that will empower the poor.”

Teodoro, who took over as chairman of Lakas-Kampi last month, said that his party has a “centrist humanist vision, and the individual is of primary importance” in the agenda of government. –THE MANILA TIMES