Villar continues to eat into Noynoy's lead in poll

Senator Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III maintained his lead over other presidential candidates in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, but his closest rival, Senator Manuel Villar Jr., has cut the difference to only 7 percentage points. Aquino's lead went down from 44 percent in late December to only 42 percent, according to the SWS survey commissioned by BusinessWorld. The same poll, conducted January 21 to 24 and covered 2,100 respondents, showed Villar's ratings rise from 33 percent in December to 35 percent despite the C-5 road controversy hounding him. Aquino's camp, however, was unfazed by the latest survey. "We're not worried. Senator Noy's numbers are stable and within the margin of error. Senator Villar's increase is due to massive ad placements on TV and radio," said Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada, spokesman of Liberal Party (LP), Aquino's political group.

"We are encouraged by the deep commitment of support from more than 40 percent of the voter base despite the relentless assault of multibillion peso campaigns," said Aquino's spokesperson Edwin Lacierda in a text message. Tañada noted that the survey was conducted before the Senate report on Villar's alleged use of his influence to benefit financially from the C-5 road construction came out. BusinessWorld and information from the Liberal Party showed former President Joseph Estrada - whose bid for re-election was recently allowed by the Commission on Elections - on third place a 13-percent rating, two percentage points down from the last survey. Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer Gilberto Teodoro maintained his spot in the fourth place with 4 percent, although his rating decreased by 1 percentage point. He was followed by Senator Richard Gordon and Jesus is Lord leader Bro. Eddie Villanueva, who each got 2 percent. According to BusinessWorld, Senator Jamby Madrigal got 0.4 percent, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan standard bearer Vetellano Acosta got 0.3 percent, Ang Kapatiran's JC Delos Reyes got 0.2 percent, and environmentalist Nicanor Perlas got 0.1 percent. Two percent said they were still undecided, said BusinessWorld. For the vice presidential race, Aquino's running-mate, Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas II widened his lead over his closest rival, Senator Loren Legarda. Roxas garnered a 49-percent rating, 6 percentage points up from another SWS survey that covered December 5-10. Legarda's rating, meanwhile, went down from 32 percent in the same period to 28 percent. Legarda is the running-mate of Villar. Estrada's running-mate, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, got a 16-percent rating, which was up by 6 percentage points from December 5-10. He was followed by Gordon's runningmate, former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chair Bayani Fernando, and Teodoro's running-mate, former Optical Media Board head Edu Manzano, who both got 2 percent. - KBK, GMANews.TV