Jinggoy, Bong, Miriam lead bets

MANILA, Philippines - Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada remained the favorite senatorial candidate of a majority of Filipino adults, receiving more than half of the votes of 1,800 respondents in the latest Pulse Asia survey.

The survey showed that 14 of 80 individuals included in the senatorial race have a statistical chance of winning, with Estrada leading the list of probable winners with 55.1 percent.

The non-commissioned nationwide survey, conducted from Dec. 8 to 10, used face-to-face interviews of representative adults 18 years old and above.

"The overall voter preference of 55.1 percent translates to a statistical ranking of 1st to 3rd places," Pulse Asia said.

Coming in close second was Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. (52.7 percent) who is ranked 1st to 4th, a ranking shared by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago (51.4 percent).

Former Senate president Franklin Drilon (48.4 percent) is at 2nd to 4th places, while tied for 5th to 9th places are Sen. Pia Cayetano (43.1 percent) and former National Economic and Development Authority director-general Ralph Recto (43.1 percent).

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile (42.7 percent) and former senators Sergio Osmeña and Vicente Sotto received 40.2 percent each.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (31 percent) and Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III (28.6 percent) were tied for the 10th to 11th positions.

Businessman Jose "Joey" de Venecia III got 24.3 percent, Sen. Manuel "Lito" Lapid, 23.1 percent, and Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino Biazon, 22.9 percent, all tied for 12th to 14th places.

Pulse Asia said that all of the probable winners if the elections were held in early December 2009 recorded improvements in their electoral performance.

"Senator Revilla and Senate President Enrile show the largest improvements at 16.1 percent," it said.

Meanwhile, with less than five months before the May 2010 elections, the survey also found that only three out of 10 Filipinos have a complete senatorial lineup.

It said fewer Filipinos reported having a full roster of senatorial preferences. In August, 57 percent of Filipinos had a complete senatorial lineup of 12 candidates.

This percentage declined to 40 percent last October 2009 and now stands at 31 percent.

"While Filipinos were naming a mean of 10 and a median of 12 favored prospective candidates in August 2009, the mean and median are down to eight at present," the survey firm said.

Pulse Asia's nationwide survey has a plus or minus two percentage points error margin at the 95 percent confidence level.

Sen. Richard Gordon expressed confidence his rating would improve in the coming months once people find out that he was already a candidate for president.

"This survey is going to change, because they are now going to look at a real candidate with a real track record and a record of leadership and integrity," Gordon said.

"This survey was taken immediately after the certificates of candidacy were filed. People were not quite sure whether I was a candidate until on that day. This survey really favors those who have announced much earlier and those who have been spending a lot of money already; and it does not favor those who tried to follow the law. However, I am not discouraged, but encouraged. It is a fact that the others have gone down; we intend to go up, and we will go up," Gordon said.

In the next five months, Gordon said people would find out what "everybody has got."

Vice presidential candidate Mar Roxas of the Liberal Party brushed off the latest results of the Pulse Asia survey and expressed belief it would still change as election nears.

"All these surveys are indications of how politics run. We are very happy that the lead of Sen. Noynoy Aquino over his rivals is very solid and this gives us the strength to continue the fight for upright, honest and clean governance that the country needs," Roxas told reporters.

Roxas said he was expecting ratings to go up and down as part of the campaign.

"In the last two or three months, I have been focused on the campaign of Senator Noynoy and come January, as the campaign period starts, I know the figures will change," Roxas said.

Sen. Loren Legarda of the Nacionalista Party and Nationalist People's Coalition said she was very pleased with the results of the latest Pulse Asia survey showing her gaining 14 percentage points.

Legarda said she was confident that as the campaign period nears, she would emerge on top of the vice-presidential race.

"I am very pleased with the results of this latest survey. It validates my belief that a green platform is precisely what this country needs, and that the Filipino electorate approves of my efforts in pushing a pro-environment agenda," Legarda said. With Aurea Calica