"If only for this, you have my high respect"

05/11/2010 | 11:13 AM
4 presidential bets concede defeat, congratulate Noynoy

(Updated 4:54 p.m.) As the picture of a Noynoy Aquino administration becomes clearer, four of his rivals for the presidency on Tuesday threw in the towel as they congratulated him for what seems like his impending victory.

First to admit defeat was Aquino’s colleague in the Senate and fiercest rival to the presidency during the campaign period, Nacionalista Party’s Manny Villar Jr.

"Humaharap ako sa inyo ngayon upang tanggapin ang pasyang ito. Upang igalang ang boses ng sambayanang Pilipino (I now face you all to admit my defeat). I congratulate Senator Noynoy Aquino on his victory. The challenges he and our country faces are enormous and we should all work together," he said, reading a prepared statement during a press conference in Mandaluyong City.

Villar's move earned him admiration from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

"The commission expresses its deep admiration for Senator Manuel Villar for his act of statesmanship for conceding the elections," said Comelec chairman Jose Melo at a press briefing Tuesday afternoon.

Sen. Richard Gordon of Bagumbayan, Ang Kapatiran’s JC de los Reyes, and Lakas-Kampi-CMD's Gilberto Teodoro Jr. followed Villar's steps. In a statement posted on his Facebook account, Gordon congratulated Aquino for his "spectacular victory" and called upon the nation to unite and support the new administration.

"We accept the will of the people. Today, we have a victory for democracy with the successful exercise of our first nationwide automated election despite naysayers and doubters," said Gordon.

In a text message to reporters, De los Reyes said that although Aquino’s platforms differ from his, he would still "support his government in other reform efforts we have in common."

Teodoro, who is Aquino's cousin, said he is happy with the results of the elections.

According to GMA Network's partial and unofficial tally as of 4:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Aquino remained at the top spot with 13,036,271 votes. Villar ranked third with 4,680,580; Teodoro at 4th with 3,470,136; Gordon at sixth place with 446,203; and De los Reyes at ninth with 37,726.

Thank you’s

Villar thanked his party mates at the Nacionalista Party and supporters who supported his presidential bid, and said he would continue working for the welfare of the poor.

"Bagama’t ako ay hindi pinalad, ang aking pangarap na tapusin ang kahirapan ay hindi pa nagwawakas. Ito ay aking ipagpapatuloy bagama’t sa ibang paraan (Although I didn’t win, my efforts to end poverty in this country will continue)," he said in a sober tone.

Villar, a self-made billionaire, also thanked his supporters and volunteers who helped him through the campaign. He, however, expressed sadness about the allegations and negative propaganda that have hounded him throughout his campaign.

"Ako ay naniniwala na sa darating na mga araw ako ay mabibigyan ng pagkakataon na linisin ang aking pangalan upang maliwanagan ang ating mga kababayan. Yan ay mahalaga sa akin higit sa anupamang bagay," he said.

(I believe that soon I’ll be given a chance to clear my name before the public. That’s the most important thing to me.)

Villar smiled but declined to take questions from the reporters, leaving the Nacionalista Party headquarters immediately after the press briefing.

Life after campaign

Teodoro, a former lawmaker and Defense secretary, said he has no plans of staying in politics, adding that he would rather return to being a family man. “Malaki ang utang ko sa kanila (I now owed a lot to my family). I will go back to being a good husband, a good father," he said.

“I have served my country the best I could. I don't think anyone can ask more of me," he added. He also dismissed calls for him to run for senator in the 2013 midterm elections.

Teodoro thanked his supporters whom he said did not support him but his idea of national unity and positivism. He said he is not blaming anybody for his defeat.

Gordon likewise thanked his supporters, especially his volunteers particularly "those who gave up their limited resources as a manifestation of trust in his brand of leadership and track record."

"I ran a very truthful, straightforward and candid campaign and thought we could run on the basis of our platform, track record and volunteerism," he said. — with Carmela Lapeña, Aie B. See, and Kim Tan/LBG/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV

05/11/2010 | 04:26 PM
Gibo admits defeat to cousin Noynoy
CARMELA LAPEÑA, GMANews.TV

Administration bet Gilberto “Gibo" Teodoro Jr. on Tuesday afternoon joined the ranks of presidential aspirants who conceded defeat to his cousin, Liberal Party’s Sen. Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III.

“Bagama’t hindi pa official, mukhang si Senator Aquino na (Although it’s not yet official, I think Senator Aquino is already the winner in the elections)," Teodoro said during a press briefing at the Lakas-Kampi-CMD headquarters in Greenhills, San Juan.

“I am so far happy with the results [of the elections]," he added.

Partial elections results showed Teodoro at fourth place behind Aquino, former President Joseph Estrada (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino) and Sen. Manny Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party).

As of 4:15 p.m., the GMANews.TV partial and unofficial tally on presidential aspirants showed Teodoro with 3,470,136 votes compared to Aquino’s 13,036,271; Estrada’s 8,345,826; and Villar’s 4,680,580.

Before Teodoro, Villar, Richard Gordon (Bagumbayan) and JC de los Reyes (Ang Kapatiran) had also admitted their defeat to Aquino, son of the late President Corazon Aquino and slain Sen. Benigno “Ninoy" Aquino Jr.

Teodoro, a former lawmaker and Defense secretary, said he has no plans of staying in politics, adding that he would rather return to being a family man. “Malaki ang utang ko sa kanila (I now owed a lot to my family). I will go back to being a good husband, a good father," he said.

“I have served my country the best I could. I don't think anyone can ask more of me," he added. He also dismissed calls for him to run for senator in the 2013 midterm elections.

Teodoro thanked his supporters whom he said did not support him but his idea of national unity and positivism. He said he is not blaming anybody for his defeat.

“I did not fight for a political position for myself but for an idea. What can we do right for the country? Winning or losing is secondary. We fight for an idea—an idea of competence. Basic education reform, college graduate opportunities for every family, food security, genuine sustainable agrarian reform, localized peace processes, strong foreign relations, and several others," he said.

He also thanked the media which he said was mostly supportive of him. “Those in front of me, you have been fair. But those not here, I’ll have to reserve my judgment."

Teodoro said he has not spoken with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo about his plans after the elections. —KBK, GMANews.TV

05/11/2010 | 03:44 PM
Gordon concedes to Noynoy

Bagumbayan standard-bearer Richard "Dick" Gordon on Tuesday became the third presidential aspirant to concede defeat to Liberal Party’s Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III.

In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, Gordon congratulated Aquino on his “spectacular victory" and called upon the nation to unite and support the new administration.

“We accept the will of the people," said Gordon who, as of 3:40 p.m., ranked 6th (446,203 votes) among nine presidential aspirants in GMANews.TV’s partial and unofficial tally.

“I ran a very truthful, straightforward and candid campaign and thought we could run on the basis of our platform, track record and volunteerism," he added in admitting his defeat.

He also said he would like to congratulate all the winners and pray that they serve the country well.

Gordon thanked his supporters, especially his volunteers and “those who gave up their limited resources as a manifestation of trust in his brand of leadership and track record."

Above all, Gordon expressed exhilaration that the country’s first nationwide automated elections on Monday went well despite glitches in the machines used.

“Today, we have a victory for democracy with the successful exercise of our first nationwide automated election despite naysayers and doubters," he said. —Carmela Lapeña/KBK, GMANews.TV

05/11/2010 | 01:08 PM
Ang Kapatiran's JC de los Reyes concedes to Noynoy

Ang Kapatiran Party Presidential candidate John Carlos de los Reyes has conceded to Sen. Benigno"Noynoy" Aquino III of the Liberal Party, a day after the historic nationwide automation was held.

"I conceded as to the electoral count but not as to the platforms I was tasked to push," de los Reyes said in a text message sent to his party's media officer.

"Sen. Aquino is not one with us in these radical reform we need for our country, but I will support his government in other reform efforts we have in common," the text added.

De los Reyes is the youngest among the nine presidential contenders.

His party, which promotes the social teachings of the church, has been supported by several bishops all over the country.

De los Reyes lagged behind pre-election surveys conducted by pollsters Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV

Erap overtakes Villar, Binay edges Loren: poll
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 05/03/2010 10:34 AM | Updated as of 05/03/2010 10:38 AM

MANILA, Philippines – Former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada has overtaken Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar, Jr. to take second place in the presidential race, according to the latest Manila Standard Today (MST) pre-election survey.

The survey, which interviewed 2,500 registered voters nationwide from April 25-27, showed Liberal Party standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III in the lead with 38%, which is 16 percentage points above Estrada's rating of 22%. Villar was in 3rd place with 20%.

According to MST resident pollster Pedro Laylo, the negative attacks on Villar have taken a toll on his survey performance.

Other presidential bets, meantime, got single digit results: Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro, Jr. (9%), Bro. Eddie Villanueva (3%) and Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon (2%).

The survey had a margin of error of plus-minus 2%.

The new survey came less than a week after private pollster Pulse Asia released the results of its own pre-election survey. In the April 23-25 survey, Aquino gained 2 percentage points with 39% support, compared to 20% support for both Estrada and Villar.

Meanwhile, in the vice-presidential survey, Laylo said Makati Mayor Jejomar “Jojo” Binay has pulled away from Sen. Loren Legarda and is reportedly setting his sights on frontrunner Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II.

Roxas still led the pack with 38% while Binay is at 28%. Legarda slipped to 3rd place with 20% followed by Edu Manzano (3%) and Bayani Fernando (2%). All the other candidates had ratings of 1% or lower.

The survey said 6% of voters were undecided about their choice for president while 7% were undecided on their vice-presidential bet.

Binay earlier surged past Legarda in the April 23-25 Pulse Asia survey. – With a report from Ces Drilon, ABS-CBN News

Lucky streak keeps Noynoy on top
By Carmela Fonbuena, abs-cbnNews.com/ Newsbreak
Posted at 05/01/2010 5:46 PM | Updated as of 05/01/2010 7:54 PM

MANILA, Philippines—The rise of Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III from a low-key politician—who almost lost the 2007 senatorial elections—to what surveys say is the most popular presidential candidate is a result of pure luck.

The story, of course, begins with the death of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino, in August 2009. Seeing the outpouring of public sympathy toward Mrs. Aquino, her allies started egging Noynoy to run for president as early as her funeral.

Since Noynoy decided to run, he has never left the top spot in the surveys by 2 major polling firms—the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia, which, until just before he joined the race, was owned by his relatives.

Noynoy got his highest rating at 44 points in the October 2009 Pulse Asia survey. His Liberal Party (LP) acknowledged it was “Cory Magic” at work.

He never recovered his 44% at the height of the euphoria, but he enjoys a big 19-point lead over his closest rivals in the latest survey. In Pulse Asia’s latest survey, conducted 2 weeks before May 10, Noynoy registered 39 points.

Senator Manuel Villar Jr. of the Nationalista Party (NP) and former President Joseph Estrada of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) tied for 2nd place with 20 points.

“We are confident. Senator Aquino’s numbers seem to have solidified,” said LP campaign manager Florencio Abad.

“Cory Magic has never left Noynoy…. He’s a lucky guy. He’s also lucky because other parties are having problems—because of their own makings. May mga kapalpakan sila,” added De La Salle University political analyst Allen Surla.

February: Noynoy share’s Erap’s luck

It was not always an easy ride for Noynoy. In late January, Villar got close to his numbers. His 37 points was statistically tied with Villar’s 35 points.

For the LP, it was the worst time for Villar to catch up. The survey results were released shortly before the official start of the campaign period on February 10.

Villar was gaining momentum because of effective political advertising. “The ad ratio was something like 10 to 1. It was because of the sheer volume of his ads. He was heard. We were not being heard,” said Abad.

At the same time, some groups supporting Noynoy were arguing against using political advertising as a campaign tool. “Some people [wanted it to be] an alternative campaign and we should not do ads,” Abad recalled.

Abad said the debate was settled when the following SWS survey came out, showing Aquino and Villar still in statistical tie.

Meanwhile, the LP also attacked Villar on various issues such as his heavy spending on political advertising, his alleged coalition with President Arroyo and, most aggressively, the C-5 road controversy.

When Noynoy regained his lead in the following survey (Feb. 21-25), the LP ascribed it to the C-5 controversy. But they were wrong.

Analysis of the survey numbers show that it Estrada was eating a big chunk of Villar’s support base in Mindanao. (See "Erap, not C-5 caused Villar's survey drop")

Noynoy's numbers then were steady at 36%, but But Villar suffered a 6-point drop.

Estrada pulled a surprise when he gained 6 points, from 12 points in January to 18 points in February.

It was a result of the January decision of the Commission on Elections junking the disqualification cases against Estrada. It erased the doubts on voters' mind that their votes would go to waste if they would choose Estrada.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said, who is PMP’s vice president for Mindanao, said the January survey didn’t capture this because Estrada’s political advertisements informing voters of the legal victory came out only in February.

Indirectly, Noynoy was a beneficiary of Estrada’s advantage.

It seems that Estrada continues to shrink Villar’s base in Mindanao. In the April 23-25 survey, Villar lost 7 more points in the region. Estrada gained 5 points, although it was equal to the error margin.

"We're not really surprised that President Estrada's ratings rose. We stuck to our strategy of going directly to the people, and they have realized that Estrada is the real leader of the poor,” said PMP spokesperson Ralph Calinisan.

March: Lakas defections, ‘not poor’ claims

It had been downhill for Villar since. In the Pulse Asia survey conducted March 21-28, he lost 4 more percentage points. It’s a total of 10 points decrease since he was statistically tied with Noynoy.

Noynoy, on the other hand, continues to benefit from the failures of his rivals to address issues against them.

A part of Noynoy’s luck, if it may be called that, is his poor track record. Unlike Villar—who has been a businessman, a House Speaker, and a Senate President—Noynoy has never held a major leadership position that would test his character.

Noynoy's record is clean because it’s blank. In his 12 years in Congress, he is yet to pass a single one of his major bills. In his 9 years as Tarlac congressman, in fact, the only law he passed was the one declaring as special holiday the foundation day of Tarlac City.

There was hardly any issue to hit Noynoy except his family’s failure to distribute to farmer-beneficiaries Hacienda Luisita, a 6,000-plus hectare estate that the Cojuangcos were supposed to have returned to government more than 4 decades ago. But it did not seem to resonate with the voters.

“It did not. We did a lot of focus group discussions (FGD) on it. It’s because they overloaded the issue. They entirely put the blame on Noynoy. They even accused him with the massacre,” said Abad.

Even years before the NP supporters brought up the issue of the 12 farmers and 2 children who were killed at the picket lines outside Hacienda Luisita, however, various reports had quoted farmer groups and witnesses saying that those who shot at the farmers were came from inside the hacienda and were known bodyguards of Noynoy.

Recently, NP camp tried to cast doubt on Noynoy’s ability to govern by circulating spurious psychological reports. They were immediately denied by the people supposedly involved in the evaluation.

What appears to be Villar’s strategy in the final days of the campaign period is to hit Noynoy’s poor track record and incompetence—directly in interviews and indirectly in ads.

With a number of issues hounding Villar, it is difficult to pin down what particular issue hurt Villar’s campaign.

Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes said the “Villaroyo” tag may have hurt Villar in the March survey.

During the survey period, one of the biggest headlines was the defection of some of President Arroyo’s allies to the NP camp. It boosted LP’s allegation of the supposed coalition between President Arroyo and Villar.

Later in March, the resignation of administration bet former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. resigned as chairman of the ruling party Lakas-Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-Kampi CMD).

This happened after the survey was conducted, however.

Although Teodoro later denied it, news reports then exposed that his move was sparked by the call made by First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo to Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia Sr. to ask him to shift support to Villar. Cebu is the country’s biggest voting population with 2.2 million voters.

Other camps have also been attacking Villar’s character throughout the campaign period.

In March, newspaper columnists Solita Monsod of Phililppine Daily Inquirer, Lito Banayo of Malaya, and William Esposo of Philippine Star debunked Villar’s claim that he was poor, the foundation of his entire campaign.

(The 3 columnists had worked with the Cojuangcos before. Monsod was economic planning secretary during President Aquino's time, when her husband was chief elections commissioner. Banayo was involved in the Aquino-Laurel snap elections campaign in 1986, and was postal official during the Aquino administration. Esposo is with Noynoy's uncle, Peping Cojuangco, in the political group Council on Philippine Affairs.)

Surla said the claim that Villar didn't have dirt-poor beginnings had an impact on his campaign. “The problem is he over-dramatized his poverty. That did it for him,” he said.

To belie the allegations, Villar’s mother recently held a press conference to defend his son. She also appeared in advertisements. These developments have not been capture in the surveys.

April: Villar’s plunge

Noynoy’s numbers hardly moved. But Villar, who was hit by one controversy after another, continues to go down.

The April 23-25 surveys shows Villar is down with 20 points. He is now tied with Estrada for 2nd place.

Villar’s camp said the surveys numbers are a result of a concentrated black propaganda.

“In the past few weeks, we have seen intensified black propaganda and vicious attacks from both the Erap and Aquino camps,” said NP spokesman and senatorial candidate Gilbert Remulla said.

“Jamby, si Erap, si Gordon, and the Liberal Party, they’re all hitting Manny [Villar] at the same time. There has been a flurry of negative campaigning. It’s below the belt,” said another NP spokesman, Adel Tamano.

Among the key developments identified by Pulse Asia during the survey period are the following:

* Defections from Lakas-Kampi CMD to NP and LP
* Allegations made by Estrada and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile that while serving Senate President in 2007, Villar used his position to pressure the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to decide in his favor on a matter concerning the public offering of his real estate company’s shares.

Surla said the possibility of the numbers changing in the “last two minutes” of the campaign cannot be discounted, although the other camps will have to work double time.

“Based on statistics, the chances are getting slimmer for Villar. But statistics is just one dimension,” he said.

Surla said there are other factors that could affect the result of elections—local machinery, resources, and voter turnout among others.

Abad said they will not be complacent. “In Philippine politics, until you are proclaimed, you are never sure. A big question mark is the automated elections. You cannot be complacent,” he said. (abs-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak)

Noynoy, Mar keep survey lead
By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) Updated April 23, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and his running mate Sen. Manuel Roxas II have maintained their leads in various surveys three weeks before the elections.

The Manila Broadcasting Co.-dzRH survey on April 16 with 6,900 respondents showed Aquino leading the race with 38.6 percent, followed by Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. with 22.8 percent. Former President Joseph Estrada of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino got 21.2 percent; former Defense secretary Gilberto Teodoro of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD, 11.3 percent; Eddie Villanueva of Bangon Pilipinas, 2.7 percent; Sen. Richard Gordon of Bagumbayan, 1.6 percent.

Vetellano Acosta, who had been disqualified, got 0.3 percent, while environmentalist Nicanor Perlas and Sen. Jamby Madrigal each got 0.2 percent. Olongapo City Councilor JC de los Reyes scored 0.1 percent.

In the vice presidential race, Roxas registered a 41.4 percent rating while Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay got 27.3 percent and Sen. Loren Legarda, 22.9 percent.

Former Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando got 2.9 percent; former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Perfecto Yasay, 0.9 percent; news anchor Jay Sonza, 0.4 percent and Dominador Chipeco, 0.1 percent.

Aquino and Roxas also topped surveys by local governments.

In Iloilo City, a survey conducted from April 17 to 18 with 600 respondents showed Aquino garnering 45.5 percent, followed by Villar with 29.5 percent; Teodoro, 9.5 percent; Estrada, 7.8 percent; Perlas and Villanueva, one percent each; and Gordon, 0.5 percent.

Roxas got 71.2 percent; Binay, 11.5 percent; Legarda 10.7 percent; actor Edu Manzano, 1.2 percent; Fernando, one percent; and Yasay, one percent.

In Legazpi City, a survey dated March 26-29 showed Aquino was favored by 54.3 percent of respondents; Villar, 23 percent; Estrada, 6.2 percent; Teodoro, 5.4 percent; Gordon, 1.3 percent; Villanueva, 0.7 percent; De los Reyes, 0.3 percent. Madrigal got zero.

Roxas received 54.9 percent; Binay, 18 percent; Legarda 17.2 percent; Fernando, 1.5 percent; Manzano, 0.8 percent; Yasay, 0.3 percent; and Sonza, 0.1 percent.

In Davao, an April 20 survey among 6,000 respondents also showed Aquino leading with 46.18 percent; Estrada, 31.07 percent; Villar, 12.40 percent; and Teodoro, 5.57 percent.

Roxas got 50.11 percent; Binay 28.29 percent; Legarda 15.59 percent; and Manzano, 1.42 percent.

LP campaign manager Florencio Abad said they were furnished the survey results by various groups and local officials who commissioned them.

Aquino and Roxas, in a statement, vowed to rev up their campaign and not be distracted by black propaganda.

Roxas, also LP president, said the party was banking on an outpouring of support from various sectors and defectors from other camps as a result of their positive campaigning.

Earlier, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda bolted the administration party to support Aquino and Roxas.

Several national unions affiliated with the Lakas Manggagawa Labor Center have formed an umbrella group called Workers for Aquino and Roxas.

The group comprises the Philippine Association of Free Labor Unions, Alliance of Filipino Workers, Union of Filipino Workers, Construction Workers Solidarity, Workers Welfare Watch-Philippines, Ladies Garments Textile Workers Welfare Association and the National Labor Union.

Meanwhile, a Filipino seaman was the first to vote personally on Wednesday in the overseas absentee voting (OAV) at the Philippine consulate in Los Angeles.

The consulate said Ulysses Tumamak Toling became the first registered seafarer to cast his vote at the Consulate General.

Meanwhile, the Philippine embassy in Tel Aviv said overseas absentee voters continue to flock to the embassy to cast their votes. The Overseas Absentee Voting officially opened last April 10. With Pia Lee-Brago

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Noynoy still leads in survey commissioned by Villar ally


Presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III (Liberal Party) remains on top in a recent survey commissioned by an ally of rival Sen. Manny Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party) .

According to the results of the survey conducted from March 28 to 30 and purportedly commissioned by House Minority Floor Leader Ronaldo Zamora, Villar scored 29 percentage points, or eight points behind Aquino’s 37.

The NP claimed the survey was from Social Weather Station (SWS), although the poll firm has yet to confirm it. Calls made by GMANews.TV to its office were not answered.

In the SWS survey last month that was commissioned by BusinessWorld, Villar got 28 percent while Aquino got 37 percent.

In a statement, the NP still expressed exultation over the latest survey, saying it was a “leap" from the 12-point lead enjoyed by Aquino in the March 21 to 28 survey by rival pollster Pulse Asia, where the LP bet got 37 percent compared to Villar’s 25.

“That’s a leap of four points [25 percent in Pulse Asia to 29 percent in SWS], immediately after the field personnel of the other survey firm were just wrapping up their own results," said NP senatorial candidate and spokesperson Gilbert Remulla in a statement.

“Misleading the public"

The LP, meanwhile, castigated NP for allegedly trying to mislead the public by hyping on the supposed cut in Aquino's lead.

In a text message, LP spokesman and Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada said if the Zamora-commissioned survey is true, then it showed that Villar gained only a point – from 28 percent to 29 percent – compared to the SWS poll that preceded it.

“You do not compare survey results from different survey companies," he pointed out, adding that the four-point cut in Aquino’s lead that the LP stated in its statement was actually based on the results of SWS and Pulse Asia surveys.

“Again the NP is trying to mislead the public," Tañada said. “Obviously the NP is desperately trying to look for ways to cover up the fact that the lead of Senator Aquino seems to be stable if you compared the commissioned and the non-commissioned surveys of the SWS."

He added that the one-point gain by Villar in the two SWS surveys “is within the margin of error and is negligible."

The LP has accused Villar of being the “secret candidate" of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Other presidential bets

The Zamora-commissioned poll also showed former president Joseph Estrada (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino) falling to 17 percent from previous 19 percent, and administration bet Gilberto Teodoro (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) picking up two points to score eight percent.

The statement did not indicate the preference ratings for other presidential aspirants Sen. Richard Gordon (Bagumbayan), evangelist Eddie Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas), Sen. Jamby Madrigal (independent), environmentalist Nicanor Perlas (independent), and Olongapo City councilor John Carlos delos Reyes (Ang Kapatiran). - KBK, GMANews.TV

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Villar falls 4 points; Aquino, Erap, Gibo steady: Pulse Asia

ABS CBN News

MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE) - Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III leads in the latest Pulse Asia survey with a 12 percentage-point advantage over closest rival, Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar, Jr.

In the Pulse Asia survey conducted from March 21 to 28, Aquino got 37% support followed by Villar with 25%, former President Joseph Estrada with 18%, administration bet Gilbert Teodoro with 7%, Sen. Richard Gordon with 2%, Bro. Eddie Villanueva with 3%.

Nicanor Perlas, John Carlos "JC" de los Reyes, and Jamby Madrigal were chosen by less than 1% of respondents.

Aquino was statistically the same as in the February 21-25 survey while Villar dropped by 4 percentage points. He widened his lead over Villar from 7 points in February to 12 points in March 21 to 28.

Estrada was steady at 18%, and Teodoro also failed to get more support with 7%, the same level as in February.

All the other candidates did not improve their survey ratings.

'Noynoy sustains lead'

"Senator Benigno 'Noynoy' C. Aquino III sustains his lead in the presidential race," Pulse Asia said in its April 6 media release from Prof. Ronald Holmes, president of the polling firm.

"Senator Aquino enjoys a slight significant lead over the second running contender in almost all areas and socio-economic classes ranging from a low of 7 percent in the Balance Luzon (where Sen. Aquino's preference is at 33% versus Sen. Villar's 26%) to a high 32% for the upper socio-economic class ABC (where Sen. Aquino's voting support is at 49% against 17% for Sen. Villar)," Pulse Asia said.

"In Mindanao and the lowest socio-economic class E, Sen. Aquino's preferences (37% and 34%) are statistically close to the preferences of former President Estrada (in Mindanao at 29%) and Senator Villar (for Class E at 28%)," the survey firm added.

Mar keeps lead, Binay gaining over Loren

In the vice-presidential race, Sen. Manuel "Mar" Roxas II kept a comfortable 20 percentage-point lead over closest rival, Sen. Loren Legarda. He had 43% support while Legarda got 23%.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay continued to improve in the surveys, gaining 4 percentage points from 15% in February to 19% in March 21 to 28.

Legarda fell by 4 percentage points, from 27% in February to 23% in March 21 to 28.

The rest of the candidates--Bayani Fernando (3%), Edu Manzano (2%), Perfecto Yasay (1%), Jay Sonza (0.5%), Dominador Chipeco (0.1%)--did not improve their survey ratings.

The latest survey was done with 3,000 adult respondents with a margin of error of plus/minus 2%. A sample ballot "that is a facsimile of the COMELEC official ballot" was used for the survey.

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