Manila, Philippines — Less than a hundred days before the May 10 general elections, Senators Aquino and Villar are now statistically tied, according to the January 2010 Pulse Asia survey.
The nationwide survey of 1,800 Filipinos of voting age, with a margin of error of plus or minus two percent, also showed vice-presidentiable Mar Roxas II pulling away from his nearest rival and fellow senator, Loren Legarda.
The survey conducted last January 22 to 26 showed that Aquino was the choice of 37 percent of the respondents while Villar got the 35 percent.
Apart from Aquino and Villar, the voters’ preference for the other presidential bets were: Estrada, 12 percent; former defense secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro, 5 percent; evangelist Eduardo “Eddie” Villanueva, 2 percent; Senator Richard “Dick”Gordon, 1 percent; Senator Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal, 0.5 percent; Councilor John Carlos “JC” De Los Reyes, 0.3 percent; little known Vetaliano “Dodong” Acosta, 0.2 percent; and environmentalist Nicanor “Nick” Perlas, 0.05 percent.
Based on a predetermined set of reasons for their choice, the respondents said their bet was “not corrupt or has a clean record” (24 percent) and “cares for the poor” (also 24 percent).
Competence – as expressed in the survey as “can do something, is doing something, will do something” (16 percent), “used to governing” (6 percent), and “knowledgeable/intelligent” (4 percent) – did not rank high among the reasons for respondents’ choices.
On the race for the second highest post in the land, Roxas took 47 percent of the respondents’ votes, giving him a good lead over Legarda, with 28 percent. Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay was third with 13 percent.
The other vice-presidential bets’ voters’ preference were: former Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani “BF” Fernando, 2 percent; actor Eduardo “Edu” Manzano, also 2 percent; former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Perfecto “Kidlat” Yasay, 1 percent; broadcaster Jose “Jay” Sonza, 0.2 percent; and Ang Kapatiran’s Dominador “Jun” Chipeco, 0.07 percent.
