(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Noli de Castro has the highest level of support among several presidential hopefuls in the Philippines, according to a poll by Social Weather Stations. 31 per cent of respondents mention the current vice-president as a possible head of state, up one point since March.

Senator Loren Legarda of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) is second with 26 per cent, followed by Senate president Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party with 25 per cent, senator and former police chief Panfilo Lacson of Genuine Opposition (GO) with 16 per cent, NPC senator Francis Escudero with 14 per cent, and Liberal Party senator Mar Roxas with 13 per cent. Support is lower for former president Joseph Estrada and Liberal senator Francis Pangilinan.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took over as president in January 2001, following Estrada’s resignation. Arroyo won a six-year term in the June 2004 presidential election, garnering 39.99 per cent of all cast ballots. De Castro—running as Arroyo’s running mate, but not as part of a single ticket—received 49.79 per cent of all cast ballots in the vice-presidential election, defeating Legarda.

In May 2007, voters in the Philippines renewed the House of Representatives and one-half of the Senate. Final results gave seven of the 12 upper house seats at stake to GO candidates, followed by the pro-government Team Unity (TU) with three, and two independents.

On Aug. 28, de Castro refused to confirm or deny whether he will accept an invitation from the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats to become their presidential candidate, saying it is too early to talk about strategic alliances, and adding, "My priority at this time is to be able to effectively perform my duty as vice-president, housing czar, presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers, and to continue my task of monitoring the prices of basic commodities."

Polling Data

Who do you think should succeed Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as president in 2010? You may provide up to three answers.

Source: Social Weather Stations
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,200 Filipino adults, conducted from Jun. 27 to Jun. 30, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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