Senators question presidential survey

Some senators on Thursday questioned the results of the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) presidential survey where Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III came out as the top preferred presidential candidate for the May 2010 elections.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. described as “vague’’ the formula used in the survey.
Aquino came out as one of the top three choices to best succeed President Arroyo, garnering 60 percent preferential votes among 1,800 respondents of the survey.
Senator Manuel Villar Jr., Nacionalista Party president and standard-bearer, who used to dominate opinion surveys slid down to number 2 with a wide margin of difference from Aquino, garnering 37 percent. They were followed by former president Joseph Estrada with 18 percent and Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero with 15 percent.
Vice President Noli De Castro Jr. who also previously consistently topped in the last seven surveys unusually dropped from the ranks with an 8 percent ranking, followed by Sen. Loren Legarda (5 percent), Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro (4 percent).
Lagging at the tail end of the survey are Panfilo Lacson, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, Metropolitan Manila Development Chairman Bayani Fernando, and Jesus is Lord Movement (JIL) leader Eddie Villanueva.
Pimentel said it is a big question whether Aquino’s popularity ratings is as “genuine” as indicated in the survey.
“Malabo ang survey. Ok, popular si Noynoy pero ganoon ba ka popular? (The survey is vague. Yes, Noynoy is popular but how popular is he really?),” Pimentel said in a text message.
“Maybe so, maybe not,” added Pimentel who served as Interior and Local Government Secretary of Aquino’s mother, former President Corazon Aquino.
While also frowning at the latest SWS survey, Sen. Panfilo Lacson for his part said he finds it “too early” for Aquino to surge in the opinion polls.
If there is one thing that Aquino should be careful of, it would be the possibility of Sen. Francis Escudero coming into the picture.
Lacson also said that there are seven months more to go before the May, 2010, elections and Aquino could be facing a huge threat in the form of Escudero as the “trending” in the presidential race could change.
Escudero, according to Lacson, has the potential to supersede Aquino’s ratings in the presidential surveys even if the neophyte senator has not yet declared his presidential plans.