INQUIRER.net Eleksyon 2007

Legarda tops new poll on senatorial bets

INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines -- Former senator Loren Legarda topped the list of senatorial candidates with a statistical chance of winning a seat if the May 2007 elections were held today, according to the latest survey by an independent polling firm.

Legarda, a candidate of the Genuine Opposition (GO), got an overall voter preference of 56.8 percent out of the 1,800 respondents surveyed nationwide from Feb. 28 to March 5, 2007 by Pulse Asia Inc. The survey had a +/- 2 percent margin of error, the polling firm said in a statement to media.

Aside from Legarda, 16 other candidates have a statistical chance of winning, with seven others from GO, one a guest candidate of the same political coalition, six from the administration’s TEAM Unity, and two independents, the survey said.

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson of GO, with 41.1-percent voter preference, ranks between Nos. 2-3; Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, an independent, 39.4 percent (2-6); House Minority Floor Leader Francis “Chiz” Escudero of GO, 35.5 percent (3-9); Senator Ralph Recto of TEAM Unity, 35.2 percent (3-10); Manuel “Manny” Villar of GO, 35.0 percent (3-10);

Senator Joker Arroyo of TEAM Unity, 34.5 percent (4-10); Tarlac Representative Benigno “Noyonoy” Aquino III of GO, 34.2 percent (4-10); Senator Edgardo Angara of TEAM Unity, 32.1 percent (4-10); Alan Peter Cayetano of GO, 30.9 percent (5-11); former senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, an independent, 27.3 percent (10-12); former senator Vicente Sotto III of TEAM Unity, 25.4 percent (11-17);

Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III of GO, 23.1 percent (12-18); Governor Vicente Magsaysay of TEAM Unity, 22.4 percent (12-18); Sonia Roco of GO, 22.4 percent (12-18); former senator John Osmeña of GO, 21.9 percent (12-18); and Michael Defensor of TEAM Unity, 21.3 percent (12-18).

The survey also said that 10.6 percent of Filipinos were either still undecided over their choice of senatorial candidates or refused to name their preferences at this time.

With around two months to go before the elections in May, the survey said that Filipino registered voters were naming a “mean and a median of seven” out of a maximum of 12 individuals as their candidates to the Philippine Senate.

Originally posted at 12:19pm

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