MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Manuel Roxas II of the Liberal Party (LP) has maintained his lead over his rivals in the latest vice presidential survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The survey, taken from March 19 to 22, showed Roxas enjoying 42-percent voter preference against 25 percent posted by Sen. Loren Legarda of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.
The survey, commissioned by BusinessWorld, used face-to-face interviews with 2,100 respondents.
Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay of the United Opposition came in a strong third with 21 percent.
The SWS said the scores of the remaining vice-presidential bets did not move substantially in the latest survey.
Binay said the survey showed a substantial cut in Roxas’ lead over him.
“The survey result is an encouragement. I believe the voters would like to see real change in the way government works and are scrutinizing the track record of each candidate,” Binay said.
Bagumbayan candidate Bayani Fernando and Lakas-Kampi-CMD bet Edu Manzano got three percent each.
Bangon Pilipinas candidate Perfecto Yasay received one percent; Ang Kapatiran’s Dominador Chipeco, 0.4 percent; and Kilusang Bagong Lipunan’s Jay Sonza 0.3 percent.
SWS said the respondents were asked, “If the elections were held today, whom would you most probably vote for as President, Vice President and Senators of the Philippines?”
The respondents were provided with a list of candidates, the SWS said.
Roxas said the latest SWS survey results showed the people have not abandoned the “fight for change.”
“We are elated by the results,” Roxas said.
Meanwhile, Bukidnon Gov. Jose Zubiri announced yesterday that he is supporting Roxas.
“I am rooting for Mar Roxas because he is a good friend, an able technocrat and was in fact my first choice for president,” he said in a statement emailed to The STAR.
“Our families are friends from way back, so when he backed out of the presidential race, I really felt sad,” he said.
Zubiri made the announcement a week after withdrawing his support for Teodoro in favor of Sen. Manuel Villar of the Nacionalista Party. He was Lakas regional chairman.
He said there was no money involved in his support for Villar and Roxas.
“I won’t ask a single centavo from them. I am spending my own money. We have an organization down to the precinct level. You don’t need to buy votes here. People look at the candidate’s program, and that is how they choose,” he said. – With Aurea Calica, Jess Diaz, and Jose Rodel Clapano