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Aquino Leads All Candidates in the Philippines
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(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - "Noynoy" Aquino of the Liberal Party (PLP) is the strongest candidate in this year’s presidential campaign in the Philippines, according to a poll by Social Weather Stations published in Business World. 42 per cent of respondents would vote for Benigno Aquino III in the May election.
Senator Manuel Villar of the Nacionalista Party (PNP) is second with 35 per cent, followed by former president Joseph Estrada of the Force of the Filipino Masses (PMP) with 13 per cent. Support is lower for current secretary of national defence Gilberto Teodoro, religious and political leader Eddie Villanueva, and four other candidates.
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. Noli 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 Loren 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 Genuine Opposition (GO) candidates, followed by the pro-government Team Unity (TU) with three, and two independents.
In 1986, Corazon Aquino—the widow of murdered opposition leader Benigno Aquino—took over as president when long-time dictator Ferdinand Marcos was forced to flee to Hawaii. Aquino accused Marcos of stealing a presidential election, and led a series of massive demonstrations that came to be known as "People Power" in order to topple the regime. Aquino ended her presidency on a high note and remained an extremely popular figure in the country, until her death in August 2009.
Aquino’s death ignited a sudden interest in her son Aquino III becoming a presidential candidate. A grass-roots movement urged him to run and the senator officially launched his bid in September.
On Feb. 3, Aquino III accused the government of supporting his opponent Villar, saying, "By the day, it is becoming clear that an unholy alliance is developing between this administration and my opponent. No wonder the Palace spokesman couldn’t restrain himself in expressing his gratitude to one of my opponents for keeping quiet on the many issues confronting this administration."
The presidential election is scheduled for May 10. Arroyo is ineligible for a consecutive term in office.
Polling Data
Among the names found in this list, who will you probably vote for as President of the Philippines, if elections were held today?
|
Benigno Aquino III |
42% |
|
Manuel Villar |
35% |
|
Joseph Estrada |
13% |
|
Gilberto Teodoro |
4% |
|
Eddie Villanueva |
2% |
|
Richard Gordon |
2% |
|
Jamby Madrigal |
0.4% |
|
Vetellano Acosta |
0.3% |
|
John Carlos de los Reyes |
0.2% |
|
Nicanor Perlas |
0.1% |
|
Undecided / Other |
2% |
Source: Social Weather Stations / Business World
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 2,100 Filipino adults, conducted on Jan. 21 to Jan. 24, 2010. Margin of error is 2.2 per cent.
