Philippine Politics | 2010 Presidential Elections

Aquino is voters’ top pick for president

Villar, Estrada second and third, respectively, in BW-SWS poll

Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Senator Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” C. Aquino III currently leads the pack of “presidentiables” looking to succeed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo next year, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey commissioned by BusinessWorld showed.
Q. Sa mga sumusunod na pangalan sa listahang ito, sino po ang malamang ninyong iboboto bilang Presidente ng Pilipinas, kung ang eleksyon ay gaganapin ngayon?
Q. Sa mga sumusunod na pangalan sa listahang ito, sino po ang malamang ninyong iboboto bilang Presidente ng Pilipinas, kung ang eleksyon ay gaganapin ngayon?

The nationwide poll -- staged after the Dec. 1 deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy but before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) began trimming the official list last Dec. 15 -- had Mr. Aquino securing the support of 46.2% of the respondents.

Nineteen points behind in second place was Nationalista Party (NP) pick Senator Manuel “Manny” B. Villar, Jr., who got 27%, while in third with 16% was former President Joseph “Erap” M. Ejercito Estrada of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino.

The Dec. 5-10 survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 2,100 adults nationwide, and used an error margin of ±2.2%. The question asked was: “Sa nga sumusunod na pangalan sa listahang ito, sino po ang malamang ninyong iboboto bilang Presidente ng Pilipinas, kung ang eleksyon ay gaganapin ngayon? (Among the names found on this list, who will you probably vote for as President of the Philippines, if the elections were held today?)”

Filipinos will troop to polling stations on May 10 next year to choose leaders from the national to local levels. It will be the first time that the elections will be automated, with the winners expected to be named a few days, instead around a month, later.

The respondents were asked to choose from a BusinessWorld-approved list of 11 candidates -- trimmed from the 99 who had officially notified the poll body of their presidential aspirations. The list was in alphabetical order and included nicknames, as practiced by the Comelec on election day.

Admin bet is fourth

Occupying fourth place in the BW-SWS poll was former Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” C. Teodoro, Jr. of the administration party Lakas-Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino-Christian-Muslim Democrats (Lakas-Kampi-CMD), who scored 4.6%.

Fifth place, with 1.1%, went to Jesus Is Lord Movement leader Bro. Eduardo “Eddie” C. Villanueva who is running under the banner of the Bangon Pilipinas Movement.



Rounding out the list of 11 were:

• Senator Richard “Dick” J. Gordon of the Bagumbayan-New Volunteers for a Philippines party, 0.9%;

• independent candidate Senator Ma. Ana Consuelo “Jamby” A. S. Madrigal, 0.2%;

• lawyer Oliver “Oli” O. Lozano (independent), 0.1%;

• former Manila Rep. Mark “MJ” Jimenez (a.k.a Mario B. Crespo, independent), 0.1%;

• Olongapo City councilor John Carlos “JC” G. delos Reyes of the Ang Kapatiran Party; 0.1%; and
• environmentalist-activist Jesus Nicanor “Nick” P. Perlas III (independent), 0.03%.

Those who did not give answers or were undecided comprised 3.1%.

Messrs. Jimenez and Perlas were last week eliminated from the presidential contest by the Comelec, which cited their lack of resources and machinery. The poll body’s list of eight “presidentiables” can be trimmed further, Comelec officials have said, given disqualification petitions against several candidates.



Candidates comment

Asked to comment on the results, Mr. Aquino said the survey was a “consistent indicative that there was a solid base of people who want change.”

“People are really seeing that our campaign is not personality-based,” said Mr. Aquino, the only son of former President Corazon “Cory” C. Aquino and slain senator Benigno “Ninoy” S. Aquino, Jr., in reference to criticisms he is only riding the emotional outpouring over his mother’s death last Aug. 1.

Mr. Aquino had never figured in previous presidential surveys, only being put forth as a possible candidate after his mother died. In the process another presidentiable, Senator Manuel “Mar” A. Roxas, dropped his bid to become Mr. Aquino’s running mate. Mr. Roxas led the race for vice-president in the BW-SWS poll. (See related story in this section)
Meanwhile, NP spokesman Gilbert C. Remulla, speaking on behalf of Mr. Villar, said: “We are on target in terms of gaining points and ratings ... Filipino voters will realize who the best presidential candidate is.”

“We believe that there is much more space with four and a half months to go before the elections.”

Mr. Villar was previously a frontrunner, along with Vice-President Manuel “Noli” L. de Castro and Senator Loren B. Legarda, in earlier SWS polls which asked respondents who they thought were the three best leaders " instead of just choosing one, as in the BW-SWS survey“ to succeed Mrs. Arroyo.

Margaux M. Salcedo, spokesman of Mr. Estrada, said they were “confident” that the former leader would m move to the top of the survey once the Comelec or the Supreme Court settles legal questions on his eligibility to seek the presidency anew.

“One of the factors we’re also considering is the issue of qualification being a former president. Once settled, we believe that that will be a factor for him to lead the surveys. Some people might still be hesitating now because of the issue,” Ms. Salcedo in a telephone interview.

The 72-year old former leader was overthrown in the 2001 “EDSA Dos” people power revolution amid corruption allegations. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for plunder in October 2007 but was pardoned a few weeks later by Mrs. Arroyo.

His claim is that the grant of executive clemency restored his political and civil rights. And since he was unable to finish his term, Mr. Estrada insists that his latest run is not covered by the constitutional ban preventing a president from seeking another six-year term.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Gary B. Olivar, for his part, said the administration was optimistic that Mr. Teodoro would “consistently move up” in succeeding voter opinion polls.

“The presidential election is still far. There is still a lot of time to prepare for them to get where he needs to be,” the Palace spokesman said.

Other candidates were not immediately available for comment.

http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=3543