INQUIRER.net Eleksyon 2007

Legarda OK at No. 2 but cites poll Pangilinan at No. 3

Inquirer

Norman Bordadora Cynthia Balana

DIGOS, DAVAO DEL SUR -- Loren Legarda is not losing sleep over being No. 2 in the latest Social Weather Stations survey on senatorial candidates, and Francis Pangilinan is convinced that his bagging the top slot proves the correctness of his decision to go independent.

Legarda, a candidate of the Genuine Opposition who has consistently topped independent surveys since last year, said the SWS survey’s margin of error could easily override Pangilinan’s 2-percentage-point lead: “Considering the margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent, the No. 1 candidate may actually be No. 2 and the No. 2 candidate may actually be No. 1 as far as the voters’ preference is concerned.”

In the survey conducted on Feb. 24-27, Pangilinan scored 56 percent and Legarda, 54 percent.

Seven of GO’s 11 official candidates, three from the administration’s Team Unity ticket, and another independent candidate made it to the Magic 12.

Pangilinan, who is seeking reelection, is confident that his “independent stance” had “something to do” with his No. 1 ranking.

“I’m an alternative. I think there’s an undercurrent of protest. That’s the message that came across,” he told Philippine Daily Inquirer editors and reporters over dinner Wednesday night.

Pangilinan, who was dropped by GO as a “guest candidate” for his refusal to take part in its campaign sorties, said his being perceived as an underdog might have led to an outpouring of support from the “silent majority.”

“That could be because I’m being hit left and right. There may be some sympathy there because they perceive me as someone with principles, someone who stands by his decisions,” he said.

He recalled that during a campaign sortie in Bulacan province, somebody said he was “the voice of the silent majority.”

“I simply said, ‘I’m the majority floor leader. Now I’m the silent majority. That’s great,’” he added with a laugh.

US pollster

Legarda is heartened by the results of a confidential survey -- supposedly conducted by a US pollster commissioned by Malacañang -- showing her leading by 13 percentage points over Manuel Villar and Pangilinan.

Pangilinan was No. 3 in that survey.

The confidential survey was conducted on Feb. 24-27 among 1,500 respondents (300 each from Metro Manila, North-Central Luzon, South Luzon-Bicol, the Visayas and Mindanao) and had an error margin of 2.6 percent.

It showed Legarda leading with 62 percent followed by Villar’s 49 percent and Pangilinan’s 46 percent. Panfilo Lacson (45 percent) and Ralph Recto (41 percent) -- both reelectionists -- took the fourth and fifth slots.

The survey results -- which also showed a 9-3 win for the opposition candidates -- were made available to reporters during the GO sorties in Mindanao.

“I am satisfied by the two senatorial surveys which just came out, including the one reportedly commissioned by Malacañang which showed me keeping the No. 1 position in the senatorial race,” Legarda said Thursday in a text message to the Inquirer.

“I’d like to point out that my 13-percentage-point lead in this survey jibed with past results of similar polls conducted by Pulse Asia, SWS and Ibon Foundation,” she said.

‘Quirky’

According to Legarda, the fact that the survey was done by a US firm with 1,500 respondents nationwide -- 200 more than SWS’s usual 1,200 -- “added authority” to the results.

As for the SWS survey, she said the results had been described as “quirky.”

“But I have no problem being in the No. 1 or No. 2 positions,” she said.

Legarda said the margin between the No. 1 and No. 2 slots in the SWS survey was so small, “smaller even than the margin of error,” that certain quarters had viewed the results as rather unusual.

“The quirky result, as described by some, may be attributed to the normal ebb and flow of campaigns,” Legarda said.

“At the end of the day, the important thing is that based on these surveys, it can be seen that our people will give their selection of their leaders in May 2007 the deep thought and reflection that the exercise deserves,” she said.

Pangilinan said people were “tired of accusations and criticisms.” With reports from Dona Z. Pazzibugan and Michael Lim Ubac

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