De Castro, Erap top Pulse Asia survey on 2010 presidentiables

MANILA, Philippines - If the May 2010 elections were held today, Vice President Noli De Castro and former Preisdent Joseph Estrada will lead the presidential race, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey. The survey, conducted July 1 to 14, 2008, showed De Castro cornering 22 percent of Filipino adults’ support while Estrada has 16 percent. “Given the survey’s margin of error of ±3 percent, the two are essentially tied for first place,” the survey said. Closely following on the heels of Estrada are Senators Francis Escudero with 14 percent; Loren Legarda, 14 percent; Manuel “Manny” B. Villar, 12 percent; and Manuel “Mar” Roxas, 8 percent. Results indicate that De Castro maintains the voter support (21 percent) that he enjoyed in March 2008. Estrada, on the other hand, seemed to have drawn voter preference away from some candidates identified with the opposition namely Senators Panfilo “Ping Lacson,” who is down by 5 percentage points from 10 percent in March ’08; Legarda, down by 4 percent; and Roxas III, down by 2 percent. But two possible presidential candidates also identified with the opposition, Senators Francis Escudero and Villar, register marginal increases – 1 percent and 3 percent, respectively – in voter support. Former Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla, spokesman for the Naciolista party, said they expect the survey ratings of Villar to improve further in the next coming surveys. "The numbers are very encouraging for Villar and the NP considering the Senate President posted the highest gain since the last survey. We expect this trend to continue as we find ourselves closer to 2010," Remulla said. - GMANews.TV