‘Villarroyo’ blamed for Villar rating drop

Presidential aspirant Senator Manuel Villar Jr.’s reported alliance with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may have hurt his ratings in the latest presidential preference surveys, a political analyst said. The President’s supposed attempt to prove that she is not a "lame duck President" by making "midnight appointments" has further hurt her popularity, and this negative perception has extended to Villar, whom she is reportedly backing up, political analyst Benito Lim said. "That perception might have been to blame. Nobody likes the President, so she can drag anybody down," Lim told GMANews.TV in a phone interview on Tuesday. In the latest Pulse Asia survey conducted on March 21 to 28, Villar’s ratings dropped by 4 percentage points to 25 percent from a month earlier. His closest rival, Liberal Party standard bearer Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, stayed on top and picked up a point to gain 37 percent in the March survey. (See: Villar slips, Noynoy stays on top in new Pulse Asia survey) Lim said the "Villarroyo" tag had affected Villar’s image despite his political ads promising to end poverty. The Liberal Party also traced Villar’s drop to his reported alliance with President Arroyo, as well as his failure to answer charges that he did not come from a poor family. "Villar’s drop in his numbers is a result of his refusal to face and honestly answer issues and questions from his peers on C-5 and questions raised by [columnists] Winnie Monsod, Billy Esposo and Conrad de Quiros regarding Villar’s claim that he came from the poor," LP spokesman and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III said in a text message. He also cited the "open secret" of Villar being the administration’s "substitute candidate." But Lim said Villar’s declining ratings were unlikely to continue. "This kind of decline is not permanent. It is only temporary because you see that Villar is fighting back," the political analyst said. Lim said the campaign of local candidates, which started on March 26, would affect the next presidential preference surveys. "Presidential bets will now court local candidates [to win their endorsements]. The one who will spend the most amount of money to win them over... has the likely chance [of winning]," he said. Several allies of President Arroyo, among them former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson, recently announced that they were backing Villar instead of Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (See: Villar-Arroyo alliance seen in Chavit’s defection from Lakas) Villar, who projects himself as a self-made billionaire, is known for his large campaign spending. Despite the defections of Arroyo allies to his camp, he has strongly denied his alliance with Mrs. Arroyo. (See: NP, Villar deny Mike Arroyo link after Lakas defections) — LBG/NPA, GMANews.TV