IF next year’s elections were held today, one in four Filipinos would vote Sen. Manuel B. Villar Jr. president, and former President Joseph Estrada would be his closest rival (19 percent), followed by Vice President Noli L. de Castro (16 percent), according to the latest Pulse Asia survey.
The July 28 to Aug. 10 survey showed Senators Francis G. Escudero and Manuel A. Roxas II favored by 12 percent and 11 percent of voters.
Pulse Asia said Villar posted an 11-point increase in overall presidential voter preferences and Estrada, a 4-point rise, since May. Escudero, on the other hand, suffered a 5-point drop in the level of public support for his presidential bid.
Villar was the most favored in Metro Manila, Luzon and Visayas and tied with Estrada in Mindanao, the survey said.
Escudero and Villar topped the list of preferred presidential candidates among voters in socioeconomic class ABC. Villar was the most popular in Class D and was as popular as Estrada in Class E, the poorest.
With less than nine months to go before the next elections, virtually every Filipino already has a preferred presidential candidate, Pulse Asia said.
Voters said they were choosing their candidate based on their accomplishments (25 percent), pro-poor orientation (20 percent), being helpful to others (12 percent), being helpful to overseas workers (8 percent), not being corrupt (6 percent), proven capability in governance (4 percent), goodness (4 percent), being principled (3 percent), and intelligence (3 percent).