Villar tops SWS survey; places 4th in Pulse Asia survey

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. emerged as front-runner in the 2nd Quarter 2009 presidential preference survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), with Vice President Noli De Castro a not-so-close second. A portion of the survey, conducted from April 16 to May 6, 2009 and released on Tuesday (June 2) by the office of Villar to media, showed that 7,000 respondents were asked the question: Sa mga sumusunod na pangalan sa listahang ito, sino po ang malamang ninyong iboboto bilang presidentr ng Pilipinas kung ang eleksyon ay gaganapin ngayon? [Of the following names in this list, who would you vote for as president of the Philippines if an election were held today?] According to the survey, 22 percent of the respondents chose Villar, while De Castro got 18 percent. Former President Joseph Estrada and Sen. Francis Escudero were tied at 14 percent. They were followed by Senators Loren Legarda (10 %), Manuel Roxas II (9%), and Panfilo Lacson (6%). Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay had two percent, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chief Bayani Fernado got one percent, and three percent were undecided. Villar, Roxas, Lacson, Binay and Fernando had openly declared their intent to seek the presidency in the 2010 elections, while Estrada said he may run if the opposition fails to unite. Despite being coy about their intentions, De Castro, Escudero, and Legarda are strongly believed to be also interested in seeking the presidency next year. Gilbert Remulla, spokesman of the Nacionalista Party of Villar, said the survey was commissioned by Villar’s office. GMANews.TV tried to verify the information from SWS itself, but got the customary “neither confirm nor deny" reaction. The SWS leaves it to the group that commissions a particular survey to release the results to the public. 1st Quarter Survey Villar’s rating showed a big improvement from his showing in the SWS’ 1st Quarter Survey (Feb. 20-23, 2009), in which he was a close second with a 16% to De Castro’s 19%. Escudero, who was 3rd with 17% in the 1st quarter survey, suffered a decline in his rating, while Estrada’s rating did not change 14%. Legarda showed the biggest decline in rating in the latest SWS survey, having garnered 15% in the 1st quarter survey for 4th place. Roxas’ 9% rating in the 2nd quarter survey showed a slight improvement from his previous 7% rating. Vindication? Villar’s camp has trumpeted the latest survey result as a sort of a vindication for the “embattled" senator, who was booted out by his colleagues as Senate president last November over allegations of wrongdoings by Lacson and Sen. Jamby Madrigal. Villar is currently the subject of a Senate investigation for allegedly causing the realignment of C5 road extension project to benefit properties registered in the name of corporations he and his family owned and controlled. He was also accused of allegedly making an insertion of P200 million in the General Appropriations Act of 2008 for the construction of the C5 extension from South Luzon Expressway to Sucat Road including the right of way when such project was already covered in the same law with the same amount There was also supposedly a conflict of interest on Villar’s part when he failed to divest himself of holdings in corporations whose properties were acquired by the government for road right of way for the Las Piñas-Paranaque road. Villar, backed by the Senate minority bloc, has refused to cooperate with the investigation being conducted by the Senate committee of the whole on Madrigal’s allegations. Villar only 4th in Pulse Asia survey A separate and more recent survey conducted by Pulse Asia last May 4 to 17, 2009, however, showed De Castro on top with 18 percent, while Villar ranked only fourth with 14 percent, after Escudero (17%), Estrada (15%). Roxas was 5th with 13%, while Legarda had 7%. Pulse Asia’s survey, released on Monday, said 1,200 adults were interviewed nationwide. GMANews.TV