Political news , opinions and views for 2010 Presidential election

March 2, 2010

Gibo making headway

 
Written by Ernesto Hilario / About Town (Business Mirror)

While Filipinos are glued on the battle for ascendancy in the surveys between Noynoy Aquino of the Liberal Party and Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party, it’s interesting to monitor what’s happening with the two other major presidential candidates, namely Joseph Estrada of Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino and Gibo Teodoro of Lakas-Kampi-CMD. While Estrada has been running in third place in most surveys and Gibo in fourth place with a single-digit rating, it is the latter who seems to be inching up in the ratings game.

In the recent survey conducted by Campaigns and White, for instance, Gibo has been making headway among certain sectors.

In the industrial sector, which accounts for 30.9 percent of all economic activities and counts in its ranks a total of 15.75 million registered voters, Teodoro made a strong showing. Out of 1,575 respondents, 33.05 percent voted for Teodoro, 28.74 percent for Aquino, 28.61 percent for Villar and 13.10 percent for Estrada. A 33.05-percent rating converts to 5,197,500 votes—quite a large bloc for the former defense secretary, if the election is held today. Villar’s 28.61 percentage points translates to 4,506,075 votes while Aquino’s 28.74 percentage points gives him 4,526,550 votes.

“Survey results show that Teodoro after all is no pushover at all. Backed by the entire machinery of the national government and being the anointed would-be successor of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, his capability for surprises cannot be discounted,” the polling agency said.

In the vote-rich services sector with 26.27 million registered voters in its ranks, Gibo ranked third with 17.41 percentage points, as against 30.25 percent for Aquino, 29.88 percent for Villar and 12.30 percent for Estrada. This means that if balloting is held today, Aquino will chalk up 8,361,100 votes from his 30.25-percentage-point score. The 29.88 percentage points of Villar will push him second with 8,258,832 votes. Teodoro will settle for third place with 4,812,124 votes.

In the agricultural sector, which contributes only 14.2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, there are 7.61 million voters. In the survey with 761 respondents, Teodoro is in third place with 18.49 percent, with Estrada in fourth place with 10.11 percent. Villar topped this sector with 30.12 percent and Aquino is in second place with 25.2 percent.

Banking on a 4.48-percentage-point lead and gaining popular support among farmers, farm-estate owners, workers and employers, Villar posts a conversion potential of 340,928 votes against front-runners Aquino and Teodoro. A rating of 30.12 percentage points for Villar translates to 2,292,132. This will be a better performance compared with the 25.2 percentage points of Aquino and his equivalent votes of 1,917,720. Teodoro’s rating of 18.49 percent puts him in third place with 1,407,189.

Out of a total of 5,100 respondents among 96 Roman Catholic dioceses nationwide, Teodoro was in third place with17.96 percent, with Estrada in fourth place with 4.09 percent. Villar took the top spot with 23.83 percent, and Aquino in second place with 22.65 percent.

The 23.83 percentage points for Villar correspond to 12,153,300 votes as against 22.65 percentage points of Aquino, which is equivalent to 11,551,500 votes. Teodoro’s 17.96 percentage points translates to a vote mass of 9,159,600 while Estrada’s 4.09 percent is equivalent to 2,085,900 votes.

But Teodoro presents himself as a formidable threat in the 18–28 age bracket, in which he posted 3.72 percentage points against 2.76 for Villar and 1.8 percent for Aquino. He also maintains a good showing in the 29–39 bracket, where he garnered 3.24 percent against 1.20 percent for Villar and 1 percent for Aquino.

The former defense secretary is well-entrenched in the 18–28 bracket, among first-time and second-time voters, which counts a little more than 30 million registered voters. Also well within the sphere of influence of Teodoro are 10.20 million registered voters within the 29–39 age bracket.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey on trustability of candidates, only Villar and Teodoro posted a positive change in ratings between their December and January. Villar had a trust rating of 70 percent in January compared to 69 in December, for a 1-percent increase, while Teodoro had a trust rating of 32 percent in January and 29 in December, for a 3-percent increase. All the other presidential candidates posted a negative change in their trust ratings.

Poet Gelacio Guillermo turns 70

Poet Gelacio Guillermo, one of the founders of the pre-martial law organization of progressive writers and cultural workers Panulat para sa Kaunlaran ng Bansa, turns 70 this year. He will hold a poetry-reading session titled “Kung Kami’y Magkakapit-Bisig” (Mga Tula sa Hacienda Luisita) next Wednesday, March 10, 7 to 10 p.m., at 1962 Tambayanan (formerly Newsdesk) located at Scout Madriñan corner Scout Tobias in Quezon City. Everyone is invited.

E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com

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