VP Noli tops latest Pulse Asia preference survey

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Noli de Castro topped the latest Pulse Asia survey with a 22 percent preference rating, closely followed by Sen. Francis Escudero with 19 percent and Sen. Manuel Villar with 18 percent. The survey was taken from Feb. 2 to Feb. 15, 2009, which was aimed at ranking seven would-be presidential candidates. Former president Joseph Estrada comes fourth with 16 percent, while Sen. Loren Legarda has 10 percent. Sen. Manuel Roxas II got a rating of 7 percent, while Sen. Panfilo Lacson has only 5 percent. Comparatively, De Castro increased his lead by four percentage points from an 18 percent rating during the Pulse Asia survey on Oct. 14 to 27, 2008, while Escudero also moved up with four percentage points from 15 percent. Villar improved his rating by a percentage point from 17 percent during the October Pulse Asia survey, while Estrada’s rating dropped by a point from 17 percent during the same period last year. Roxas’s rating improved by a percentage point from his previous 6 percent, but continuously failed to land in the top 5 ranking. Lacson’s rating declined by 2 percentage points from 7 percent during the October survey. Per region based the latest February survey, Escudero is the run-away favorite in the National Capital Region (NCR) with 29 percent, followed by Villar with 15 percent. Villar and Escudero dominate Luzon with 20 percent compared to De Castro’s 19 percent. The Visayas region is divided among three would-be candidates - De Castro with 28 percent, Villar with 23 percent and Escudero with 22 percent. De Castro and Villar share the top choice of the D and E classes with 23 percent and 19 percent and 22 percent and 18 percent, respectively. Taking out Roxas and Lacson in the set of choices, Escudero and Villar will be neck to neck in the second spot with 22 percent rating. De Castro would still lead with 24 percent in five-cornered fight. Estrada is fourth with 18 percent followed last by Legarda with 12 percent. Region-wise, Escudero still lorded it over in the NCR with a formidable 36 percent rating but is clobbered by Villar in the Visayas with a commanding rating of 33 percent compared to his 20 percent, even beating de Castro’s 28 percent in the same region. Villar’s performance in the Visayan region was a big leap from his October rating of 18 percent or a jump of 15 percentage points. Escudero also made a significant improvement in the NCR region, jumping from 22 percent in October to 36 percent in the latest February survey. De Castro, Estrada, and Villar were the top three picks for Mindanao with 28 percent, 23 percent and 18 percent, respectively. As per economic classes, Escudero, Villar, and De Castro were the top three choices in the ABC classes with 37, 21 and 18 percent, respectively. De Castro and Villar is almost neck to neck in the D class with 25 percent and 24 percent, respectively to Escudero’s 21 percent. The E class is shared by de Castro and Estrada with 25 and 23 percent, respectively with Escudero coming in third with 19 percent. Villar is close with 18 percent. - GMANews.TV