Noynoy still on top; Villar, Erap catching up – survey

(UPDATE 2 - 3 pm) Senator Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III continues to lead the pack of presidential candidates in the 2010 elections. But two of his opponents - Senator Manuel Villar Jr., and former president Joseph Estrada - are picking up speed, according to Pulse Asia's latest survey conducted in early December. With only five months away from the automated elections, Aquino remains the front-runner with 45 percent of the respondents picking him as their most preferred presidential aspirant. The support for Aquino remained virtually unchanged in the Pulse Asia surveys - from 44 percent last October to 45 percent in December. Last week, Aquino also topped the survey conducted by a group of 800 businessmen under the Makati Business Club. He got an approval rating of 61 percent. Significant Next to Aquino are Villar with 23 percent, and Estrada with 19 percent who "are statistically tied to the second place owing to the survey's margin of error," according to Pulse Asia. The pollster said Villar and Estrada's ratings were "significant." In October 2009, Villar and Estrada were only picked by 19 percent and 11 percent of the respondents, respectively. Administration bet Gilberto Teodoro Jr's rating also improved, from 2 percent in October to 5 percent in December. Senator Richard Gordon and evangelist Eddie Villanueva garnered one percent each. One percent of the respondents picked other presidential bets, but Pulse Asia did not name the candidates. About four percent of the respondents gave no answer or were undecided. Presidential aspirants, Senator Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby" Madrigal and Olongapo City councilor John Carlos "JC" delos Reyes, were not included in the survey.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV VP, senatorial bets In the survey among vice presidential hopefuls, the running mates of Aquino and Villar - Senator Manuel Roxas and Senator Loren Legarda - were the top choices, each obtaining support from around 40 percent of the respondents. Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, the running-mate of Estrada, followed with 14 percent. Meanwhile, the front-runners in the senatorial race, according to the survey are:

• Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada (51 percent)
• Ramon “Bong" Revilla Jr. (52.7 percent),
• Miriam Defensor Santiago (51.4 percent),
• Franklin Drilon (48.4 percent);
• Pilar Juliana “Pia" Cayetano (43.1 percent);
• Ralph Recto (43.1 percent);
• Juan Ponce Enrile (42.7 percent)
• Sergio Osmeña (40.2 percent)
• Vicente Sotto (40.2 percent);
• Ferdinand “Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (31 percent);
• Teofisto TG Guingona III (28.6 percent)
• Jose “Joey" De Venecia III (24.3 percent),
• Manuel “Lito" Lapid (23.1 percent), and
• Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy" Biazon (22.9 percent)

The nationwide, face-to-face survey was conducted from December 8 to 10 among 1,800 adults. It had a margin of error of 2. The significant events that occurred during the conduct of the survey were the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao, the joint session of Congress to discuss the controversial declaration, and the filing of petitions at the Supreme Court assailing martial law, among others. - SOPHIA REGINA M. DEDACE, GMANews.TV