Noynoy leads in survey commissioned by ally

Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Senator Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III regained his lead in the latest polls for the presidential race, but the camp of his closest rival, Sen. Manny Villar, shrugged off the results as mere “psywar." A national survey by London-based Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) showed Aquino leading by 11 percent over Villar of the Nacionalista Party. The survey, commissioned by LP’s senate slate campaign manager Sen. Francis Pangilinan, was conducted from January 28 to February 3. "The results of the survey confirm our long-standing position that our people yearn for real change in their lives and aspire for a new direction for our nation," Pangilinan said in a statement. A previous survey by Pulse Asia showed Villar cutting Aquino’s lead to just two percent. Some 42 percent of the 3,000 respondents in the TNS survey chose Aquino over Villar, who only got 31 percent. Ousted President Joseph “Erap" Estrada (Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino) came in at third with 12 percent. Fourth in the ranking was administration party bet Gilberto “Gibo" Teodoro (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) with 5 percent, while evangelist Bro. Eduardo “Eddie" Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas) and Sen. Jamby Madrigal (independent) both received 2 percent. Ang Kapatiran’s JC delos Reyes, Vetellano Acosta and Nick Perlas all gained fractional percentage points in the survey.

Statistically tied in another survey Another survey, this one by the Issues and Advocacy Center (the Center), showed Aquino and Villar statistically tied at 27 percent among 1,800 respondents. Coming in at third is Estrada with 17 percent, followed by Teodoro with 14 percent; Gordon, 8 percent; and Villanueva 3 percent. The survey was conducted on February 1 to 8, with a +/-2.5 percent error margin. “Our top two contenders are currently tied, for the simple reason that if you look at the advertising factor, for the whole month of January, Villar practically consumed 460 minutes of airtime," said the Center’s director Ed Malay. He added there was a surge in Teodoro’s ratings after visiting colleges and universities, while Gordon’s showed a slight increase in light of his ubiquitous posters. “It will be a five-way race. No one can be sure up to the last minute because this is an automated election. For your vote to be counted, you’d have to be careful with shading the circles in the ballot," Malay explained. LP vice presidential bet Senator Manuel “Mar" Roxas II maintained his lead at 37% over NP’s Senator Loren Legarda, who got 28%. Former Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay meanwhile had 15%; former Metro Manila Development Authority Chair Bayani Fernando, 9%; and actor Edu Manzano, 4%. Surveys as ‘psywar’ The survey had a margin of error of +/-2 percent, and included registered voters per region. Respondents who were perceived not likely to vote were not included, according to TNS. NP vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda, however, said she is not giving much attention to survey results which she branded as mere tactics at “psywar." "Psywar ito, media war ito. Kailangang ilabas ang balita na sila ang nasa front page para kunwari malakas, pa rin sila (This is psywar, media war. They had to release this news to land on the front page and appear as if they still have the people’s votes)," she said at a press conference in Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu. NP senatorial candidate Gwen Pimentel likewise said at the same press conference that surveys should not be "over-analyzed," saying they are just a “reflection of certain biases or [they] can be manipulated as any." - with Amita Legaspi/KBK, GMANews.TV