Pulse Asia: Noynoy most favored presidential bet

On the day of his proclamation as official standard bearer of the Liberal Party (LP), Senator Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III has again emerged as the most favored presidential candidate to win in next year's elections, pollster Pulse Asia announced Monday. Noynoy, son of the late president and democracy icon Corazon Aquino, was the top choice of 44 percent of respondents, Pulse Asia said. Trailing him was Sen. Manny Villar, the wealthiest legislator who made his fortune as a real estate developer, with 19 percent of respondents surveyed. The nationwide, face-to-face survey was conducted from October 22-30 among 1,800 adults, according to Pulse Asia. The study had a margin of error of 2. The survey results were announced on the same day that the LP formally selected Noynoy and Senator Mar Roxas II as its top bets for the May polls, at the party's national directorate meeting in Quezon City. The fathers of Senators Aquino and Roxas, the late senators Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. and Gerardo Roxas, were both LP leaders who opposed the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s. Political exodus Meanwhile, the political exodus from other parties to the LP has continued, with former administration allies Socio-economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto and wife, Batangas Governor Vilma Santos, becoming the latest to switch allegiances Monday. [See: Ralph Recto, Vilma Santos latest LP recruits] In reaction to Recto's defection, Malacañang said the former cabinet member is free to choose which political party he wanted to be associated with. “That’s a personal choice that they have ... they are free to do that because we have a multi-party system, because that’s accepted historically and traditionally to politicians," said Press Undersecretary Anthony Golez, who himself joined the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) last August. Golez declined to discuss the issues surrounding the administration's Lakas-Kampi-CMD but said that as the 2010 elections draw nearer, more Cabinet secretaries would reveal their party preferences. "Come 2010 elections we will see the drawing of the lines ... some from LP, NP, (and) NPC," he said. Clamor for Noynoy Last Sept. 1, Roxas officially dropped his plans to become the country's next president in order to give way to the growing clamor for Aquino. [See: Mar gives way to Noynoy as Liberal Party standard bearer] Roxas had long been groomed as LP's standard bearer in next year's presidential elections. At that time, Aquino had yet to make his decision and, in a separate press conference, asked for more time to decide on the matter. [See: Noynoy to go on 'retreat' before baring 2010 plans] A week later, after a spiritual retreat at the Carmelite Monastery in Zamboanga City and consultations with various sectors, the senator finally announced his presidential bid. [See: Noynoy Aquino announces bid for presidency in 2010] On the 37th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law last Sept. 21, Aquino and Roxas announced their tandem after the latter officially accepted the offer to be LP's vice presidential bet. [See: Dynastic duo signifies 'revival of reformism'] The death of former president Corazon Aquino last Aug. 1, and the phenomenal crowds that turned out for her wake and funeral, however, changed the political landscape. Public clamor for Noynoy Aquino to run for the nation's top post kept growing. Since then, Aquino has been topping the surveys on the preferred presidential aspirants. [See: SWS survey: Noynoy, Villar preferred in 2010 elections His continuous rise in the surveys was seen as the root of the accusations hurled against him. [See: 'Poll-topping Noynoy now a victim of character assassination'] - with reports from Aie Balagtas See and AP, GMANews.TV