Noynoy maintains commanding lead – Pulse Asia

MANILA, Philippines – Less than five months before the May 2010 elections, Liberal Party standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III continued to gain the support of a majority of voters, according to the latest surveys conducted by polling firms Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations (SWS).

In the December 2009 Pre-Election Survey conducted by Pulse Asia from Dec. 8 to 10, Aquino led by a “sizeable margin” against his opponents, gaining the support of 45 percent of respondents.

The non-commissioned survey has 1,800 respondents aged 18 years and above.

Aquino’s strongest competitor, Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer Manuel “Manny” Villar, tied with former President Joseph Estrada of the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino in second place.

Villar was supported by 23 percent of the respondents, while Estrada was supported by 19 percent.

“They are statistically tied for second place owing to the survey’s margin of error,” Pulse Asia said in a statement.

Aquino has a strong following in the Visayas and across the ABC socio economic class.

“His electoral preference is basically at the same level across the other areas and socio-economic classes (National Capital Region, balance of Luzon and Mindanao and socio-economic classes D and E),” the survey firm said.

Estrada, on the other hand, enjoys a significant improvement in voter support from 11 percent in the Pulse Asia October 2009 survey.

Villar gained marginal increase in voter support from 19 percent in the previous survey.

Ranking third in the survey is Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential candidate former defense secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro, supported by five percent of the respondents, up by three percentage points from the previous survey.

Teodoro’s spokesperson Rep. Mitos Magsaysay said the administration is confident that Teodoro will still advance in the ratings.

“The election is more than four months away and we continue to be encouraged by the growing excitement that secretary Gibo Teodoro has begun to generate among young and thoughtful Filipinos in many areas of the country,” she said.

“We are confident that his ratings will climb dramatically as more Filipinos get to know his program of government, his character and his integrity in public office as the epitome of the new generation of high-achieving Filipino leaders. More recent mock polls in colleges and universities and in the business community are pointing to this direction convincingly,” she added.

Bagumbayan standard-bearer Sen. Richard Gordon and Bangon Pilipinas Movement presidential bet Bro. Eddie Villanueva are both supported by one percent of the respondents.

A percent of the respondents would vote for other politicians, while four percent are undecided.

Presidential candidates Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal and Olongapo City Counselor JC delos Reyes were not included in the survey.

In the vice presidential race, LP candidate Sen. Manuel Roxas leads with 39 percent, followed by NP candidate Sen. Loren Legarda with 37 percent. Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay attracted the support of 14 percent of the population; former Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando two percent; and actor Edu Manzano two percent.

A percent of the respondents would vote other candidates, while four percent are undecided.

The survey also attempted to pulse how the voting public’s perception of a presidential candidate’s virtues can affect their selection process.

The respondents were asked the question: Why will you vote for (preferred candidate from the names surveyed) as president of the Philippines?

They were given a set of predetermined “reasons” to choose from such as Cares for the poor, Not corrupt/clean record, Good person, Can do something, is doing something, will do something, Helps, helping others, Used to governing, has experience, Knowledgeable/intelligent, Listens to people, others.

The survey found that 27 percent of Filipinos will vote for a candidate who cares for the poor; 21 percent will support a candidate with no corruption record; 12 percent will vote for a candidate perceived to be a good person; 11 percent will go for a candidate who puts plans in action; 11 percent cited other reasons.

The Pulse Asia survey has an error margin of plus or minus two percentage points and a confidence level of 95 percent.

Noynoy also leads SWS poll

Meanwhile, in the recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, Aquino registered a voter approval rating of 46 percent; followed by Villar with 27, Estrada, 16 percent; Teodoro Jr., five percent; Villanueva, one percent; Gordon, one percent.

The SWS pre-election survey commissioned by BusinessWorld interviewed 2,100 respondents nationwide from Dec. 5 to 10.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percent.

In the vice presidential race, Roxas led the survey with 43 percent; followed by Legarda, 32 percent. Binay, 10 percent; actor Manzano, three percent; and Fernando, two percent.

“The results validate our belief that the Filipino people continue to support our campaign for an honest government,” Aquino’s spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

“It comes at a time when our many opponents are desperately trying to bring us down through lies and black propaganda,” Aquino, through his spokesperson, added. –-Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) with Aurea Calica