MANILA, Philippines - If elections are held today, Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. and Sen. Francis Escudero are likely to win the race, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on the public’s preference for presidential and vice presidential tandem showed.
The SWS said the Villar-Escudero tandem got 36 percent approval, while that of former President Joseph Estrada and Sen. Loren Legarda got 28 percent.
A teamup of Vice President Noli de Castro and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro rated 11 percent.
Survey respondents gave a nine percent rating to a Sen. Manuel Roxas II - Sen. Panfilo Lacson team-up.
The SWS survey posed the question: “If the following would be the tandems for president and vice president of the Philippines, who would you likely vote for if elections are held today?”
The poll results were part of the second quarter 2009 Social Weather Report conducted on a national level from June 19 to 22.
Roxas had not yet withdrawn his bid to give way for Sen. Benigno Aquino III when the SWS conducted the poll.
No backing out
Meanwhile, presidential aspirants at the Senate indicated that they would still run in next year’s elections despite recent developments within the Liberal Party endorsing Aquino to be the party’s standard-bearer.
Sen. Jamby Madrigal said she would not back out from the race, saying that her ideals and that of the LP are different.
“May the best man and woman win,” Madrigal said.
Sen. Richard Gordon, who has expressed his readiness to run, said he is not withdrawing from the race because he has not officially declared his bid. He said he is still waiting for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to recognize Bagumbayan, a political party that he formed to push his plan for the country.
Gordon said he has other alternatives if Comelec rejects Bagumbayan.
He said he would discuss with businessman and telecoms magnate Manny Pangilinan the possibility of them being a tandem for 2010.
He said he wants to share with Pangilinan his vision for a better Philippines in 2010 and beyond.
“He can be president if he wants, and I will become his vice-president,” he said.
Legarda is now timid on her presidential ambition.
She told the media that she has not declared her presidential bid yet and that there is no need to withdraw or even follow Roxas’ move.
She stressed those government platforms for the country, especially the poor, should be on the top of one’s agenda rather than one’s popularity.
Sen. Joker Arroyo maintained “the opposition must unite behind a single candidate to win the race.”