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Nearly one in three Filipinos prefer Vice President
Noli “Kabayan” de Castro to succeed President Gloria Arroyo when
her term ends in 2010, according to the latest survey to determine
the leading aspirants to Malacañang.
But de Castro’s popularity
alone may not be enough to clinch the endorsement of the ruling
political party, the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), a
senator said.
De Castro topped the latest
Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, with 29 percent of the
respondents picking him as their choice for the next president. But
his numbers have been declining in previous SWS surveys, 35 percent
in the poll released in March 2008 and 31 percent in June.
Senate President Manny Villar Jr.
was the second-most popular with 28 percent, then Senator Loren
Legarda with 26 percent.
Villar’s numbers have been
increasing in previous SWS surveys this year, 17 percent in March
and 25 percent in June.
De Castro, Villar and Legarda
have consistently topped SWS surveys and other polls of likely
presidential candidates in 2010.
According to the SWS, no list of
names was provided to prompt the respondents, who were asked to name
three persons.
The others mentioned by
respondents were Senator Panfilo Lacson, who was named by 17 percent
of those polled; Senator Francis Escudero, 16 percent; former
President Joseph Estrada, 13 percent; and Senator Manuel “Mar”
Roxas 2nd, 13 percent.
SWS added that other names
received 1 percent each: President Arroyo, Chairman Bayani Fernando
of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Senator Antonio
Trillanes 4th, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, Senator Francis “Kiko”
Pangilinan, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Senator Richard
Gordon, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia
Jr., Senator Jamby Madrigal and Senator Pia Cayetano.
“Compared to the previous
quarter, those with an increase in mentions were Senate President
Villar by 3 points, Sen. Escudero by 2 points, former President
Estrada by 2 points and Sen. Lacson by 1 point,” SWS reported.
The latest SWS survey was
conducted from September 24 to 27, using face-to-face interviews of
1,500 adults nationwide.
Errors of margin are plus or
minus 2.5 percent for national percentages, plus or minus 6 percent
for Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao, and plus or minus 4 percent
for the balance of Luzon—which refers to the regions in the
largest Philippine island except the National Capital Region, or
Metro Manila.
Party endorsement
Vice President de Castro may have
topped the latest SWS survey but he still has to earn the support of
Lakas, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said also on Friday.
For now, the party is leaning
toward Villar, who is also president of the Nacionalista Party and
Senators Legarda and Escudero, both of the Nationalist People’s
Coalition.
Zubiri, Lakas secretary general,
said that while de Castro is with the administration, he had never
exerted any effort to communicate with leaders of the administration
party.
“He would not even text us, and
a text message costs only P1. He has never sent us any greeting
card. So, it would be very difficult if he wants to become the
administration candidate,” Zubiri said.
The senator described de Castro
as a friend, adding that this does not change the political reality
that politicians want to be courted and hate being ignored.
“This should serve as a warning
to the Vice President,” Zubiri added. “He should touch base with
administration lawmakers, governors and mayors if he wants to be the
administration candidate.”
De Castro, an independent, had
refused calls for him to join the ruling party. He said it was too
early to talk about politics and that he preferred to remain focused
on his work. There were comments that he did not want to be
identified with Lakas, much less as an administration candidate.
But Zubiri said de Castro has
much to lose by alienating Lakas. “For whatever it is worth, a
strong local machinery can still deliver at least 8 [percent] to 10
percent of the votes.”
Thankful VP
Meanwhile, de Castro expressed
his thanks to the people for their continued trust and confidence in
him as shown by the SWS survey.
“I appreciate their support and
view it as an appreciation of my sincerity to seek solutions to
their problems. I assure them that I will even double my efforts in
serving them,” de Castro said in a press statement.
He added that he would continue
to uphold the highest standards of public service, “knowing that
the public office is a public trust.”
“During these times of
difficulty, nothing is more important to me than to continue serving
our people faithfully and maintaining the trust the underprivileged
masses have given me since I entered public service,” he said.
--Rommel C. Lontayao and Efren L. Danao
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