VILLAR UNFAZED BY NOYNOY LEAD IN PULSR ASIA SURVEY
MANILA, MARCH 7, 2010 (STAR) By Marvin Sy - Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer Manuel Villar Jr. remained unperturbed by the latest Pulse Asia survey on presidential candidates, which saw his numbers drop by six percentage points.In the Pulse Asia survey, Villar went down from 35 percent in January to 29 percent in February.
Liberal Party (LP) bet Sen. Benigno Aquino III obtained 36 percent in the Feb. 21-25 survey.
From being statistically tied with Aquino in January, Villar is now down by seven percentage points.
Interviewed over radio dzRH, Villar said he respected the results of the latest survey but would not necessarily use it as the only gauge of how he is performing in his campaign for the presidency.
Villar said his camp is looking at all surveys that are coming out and compare them to get an average.
Villar noted that the survey showed his numbers down in Mindanao, which affected his overall ranking in the survey.
He downplayed the Mindanao factor, arguing that he had just come from a sortie in that region and all of the surveys conducted by their candidates there showed him on top of the list.
“Anyway, we respect this and we will just come up with an average of all these surveys,” Villar said in Filipino.
NP spokesman and senatorial bet Gilbert Remulla saw the survey in a different light and decided to compare the February numbers to last year’s figures.
Remulla noted that Villar’s numbers were still going up since he got just 23 percent in the December Pulse Asia survey.
In contrast, Remulla noted that Aquino has been on a downward spiral, from 60 and 50 percent last year to just 35 percent now.
“We welcome the latest Pulse Asia results and we vow to work harder next time. It’s still two months before elections. Our seven-point deficit is recoverable compared to the 24 percentage points lost by the closest rival,” Remulla said.
On the other hand, Aquino and his running mate Sen. Manuel Roxas II vowed yesterday to work even harder to improve their leads over their rivals in the May elections, since they also count the Arroyo administration as a big enemy out to derail their victory.
“We have not reached the (targeted) maximum lead. There are still many provinces that we have yet to visit, which I think we can cover by next week,” Aquino told reporters before signing a covenant with the urban poor in Tondo, Manila.
“We want to regain the (20 percent) lead or even more,” Aquino said, adding the C-5 road controversy and other criticisms against his closest rival Villar had not yet made a full impact.
Meanwhile, United Opposition (UNO) vice presidential candidate Jejomar Binay also welcomed the Pulse Asia survey which showed the opposition’s improving performance.
Former President Joseph Estrada, standard-bearer of the UNO-Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP), posted the biggest gain of six percentage points in the latest survey.
In a statement, Binay said that while the survey does not accurately capture the groundswell of support for the Erap-Binay tandem in their provincial sorties, it indicates a shift of voting preference. - With Sandy Araneta and Aurea Calica
Villar expects more bets joining forces with NP By Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star) Updated March 07, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Now even fruits have taken on political color.
Just like the mandarin orange or ponkan, Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr. expects some of his opponents from the other parties, particularly the Lakas-Kampi-CMD, to change their colors and join forces with him as election day draws near.
Interviewed over dzRH, Villar pointed out that the ponkan starts out being green, the color of Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr.
But as election day nears, Villar said he expects more candidates from the other parties to turn orange, the color of the NP, just like a ripe ponkan.
“You will be surprised by the number of people going our way,” Villar said, adding that these include candidates from Lakas, Liberal Party and the Nationalist People’s Coalition.
Earlier this week, Villar announced that close to 300 members of the LP from three key provinces in the Caraga region have joined the NP.
In Agusan del Sur and Agusan del Norte alone, 171 local LP candidates took their oath before Villar last Monday.
The following day, 123 LP officials and members from 11 towns in Surigao del Norte defected to the NP.
Even before the start of the campaign period, the Lakas-Kampi-CMD camp had accused the NP of pirating their members.
Villar said the NP has the widest base of candidates among all parties and that this is evident in the senatorial slate of the party.
Meantime, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Middle East countries declared their support yesterday for Villar and his vice presidential bet Sen. Loren Legarda.
OFWs belonging to Migrante International said their choice of who to vote for in the May 2010 polls “is based on principle and platform.”
“Our support to the Villar-Loren tandem does not come from nowhere,” the group’s Middle East regional coordinator spokesperson John Leonard Monterona said.
“It is based on principle and platform and we believe theirs is providing a concrete strategy to address the problem of forced labor migration, which is rooted in joblessness and landlessness. This we didn’t find from the other candidates,” he stressed.
Monterona said Villar has a plan of action on agrarian reform, the development of local industries and the protection and upliftment of the working people.
He added that Villar and his wife Cynthia have significantly contributed to Migrante’s efforts to empower OFWs and their families through educating them of their basic rights and privileges and also extending tangible assistance to migrant workers in distress and giving them opportunities to rebuild their lives. – With Michael Punongbayan
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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