Special SWS survey shows Aquino slipping, Villar rising

from The Daily Tribune
01/09/2010
http://www.tribune.net.ph/nation/20100109nat14.html
Results of a special survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) last Dec. 27-28 have showed that consistent frontrunner in the recent surveys on favored presidential candidates, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III slipping two percentage points from the last SWS poll on the same subject, while Sen. Manny Villar Jr. gained six percentage points from the two surveys.

The special year-end survey, which was privately commissioned by House Minority Leader, San Juan City, Metro Manila Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, had asked some 2,100 respondents the question (in Filipino): “Among the following list of names, who will you most likely vote for as President of the Philippines, if the elections were held today?”

The results of the poll had 44 percent of the respondents choosing Aquino, although it was a slide from the “votes” he got in a similar survey done by the SWS last Dec. 5-10 where he garnered 46 percent.

Following Aquino, albeit still trailing him substantially, is Villar, who copped 33 percent of those who were polled. That, however, was notably a big jump from his having obtained 27 percent in the previous SWS survey.

The gap between Villar and Aquino in the special year-end survey has narrowed to only 11 percentage points from the 19-percentage point difference in the earlier SWS survey.

Other contenders for the presidency did not show much change in rating between the two polls.

Deposed President Joseph Estrada retained his third slot but shed one percentage point in the new SWS survey to 15 percent from 16 percent in the previous poll.

Coming in fourth is administration bet Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro, a cousin of Aquino, whose survey performance remained flat at 5 percent, similar to his Dec. 5-10 survey rating.

Television evangelist Eddie Villanueva’s ratings also did not move at 1 percent.

Sen. Richard Gordon scored 0.5 percent from his earlier 0.9 percent, while colleague Jamby Madrigal and independent John Carlos de los Reyes tied with 0.4 percent each from their previous 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

The year-end special survey has a plus/minus 2.2 percent margin of error, SWS said.