SWS: Arroyo party may get 4 to 5 Senate seats

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s prediction of total victory for the senatorial bets of Team Unity (TU) will not come true, if the latest survey result of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) will be used as basis. The outcome of the SWS survey showed that TU candidates stand to get only four to five senatorial seats in the May 14 midterm elections. The SWS said registered voters interviewed in its first quarter 2007 survey, also showed that a plurality of 36 percent will vote for opposition candidates. While a minority of 28 percent will vote for administration bets for local posts. It said the Senate race scores are consistently 8-2-2 in favor of Genuine Opposition (GO) candidates. Among those who will vote for administration candidates, the score will be 6 or 7 for GO, 4 or 5 for TU, and 1 for independent candidates. Among those who prefer independent candidates, the score would be 7 or 8 for GO, 3 for TU, and 1 or 2 for independents. The SWS also said opposition candidates get 28 to 36 percent of votes for congressman, governor, and mayor. For congressman, 36 percent will vote for an opposition candidate, 28 percent will vote for administration bets, and 26 percent for independent candidates. For governor, 28 percent will vote for an opposition, 25 percent for administration, and 21 percent for an independent candidate. The remaining 25 percent consists of 12 percent with no answer and 13 percent who responded that the query was not applicable. For mayor, 35 percent will vote for an opposition candidate, an almost equal 33 percent will vote for administration bets, and 23 percent for independent candidates, with 10 percent having no answer. For congressman, opposition candidates dominate in Metro Manila, with 50 percent of potential votes, and in the rest of Luzon, with 39 percent. They scored 30 percent in Mindanao and 24 percent in the Visayas. Administration candidates for congressman, on the other hand, lead in the Visayas, with 41 percent and in Mindanao, with 34 percent. They get 24 percent in the rest of Luzon, and 13 percent in Metro Manila. Independent candidates for congressman get 26 percent in both Luzon outside the National Capital Region (NCR) and the Visayas, and 24 percent in both Metro Manila and Mindanao. For governor, opposition candidates lead in Luzon outside NCR, with 40 percent of potential votes, while they get 27 percent in the Visayas and 23 percent in Mindanao. Administration candidates for governor lead in the Visayas, with 39 percent, and in Mindanao, with 33 percent. They get 23 percent of potential votes in Luzon outside NCR. Independent candidates for governor scored 26 percent in the Visayas, 25 percent in the balance of Luzon, and 22 percent in Mindanao. For mayor, opposition candidates lead in Metro Manila, with 46 percent of potential votes, and in the rest of Luzon, with 39 percent. They get 28 percent in Mindanao and 26 percent in the Visayas. Administration candidates for mayor dominate in the Visayas, with 42 percent, and in Mindanao, with 41 percent. They get 28 percent in Luzon outside NCR, and 19 percent in Metro Manila. Independent candidates for mayor get 25 percent of potential votes in Metro Manila, 24 percent in both the Visayas and the rest of Luzon, and 19 percent in Mindanao. The survey, conducted from February 24 to 27, used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults divided into random samples of 300 each in Metro Manila, the balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Area estimates were weighted by National Statistics Office medium-population projections for 2007 to obtain the national estimates. - GMANews.TV