Legarda sets eyes for presidency, not VP

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Loren Legarda rejected suggestions on Wednesday that she run again for vice president in 2010 and stated that she could serve the people effectively if she were the “captain of the ship.”

She was reacting to reports that the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), the party led by billionaire businessman Eduardo Cojuangco, was considering a team-up of Senators Francis Escudero and Legarda for the 2010 presidential elections.

But when asked if she would consider running for vice president again, Legarda said, “It’s highly unlikely because ... been there, done that.”

“I want to serve our people and that can only be done if I am the captain of the ship,” she said in an interview.

Legarda talked of her “passion and compassion for good management and governance.”

“It is this passion and compassion that will eventually drive me to run for the highest post if and when I so decide and I so declare. And I will make such decision at the proper time,” she said.

She said she would “continue the fight” started by the late opposition standard bearer, movie star Fernando Poe Jr.

Legarda was handpicked by Poe as his running mate in 2004, but they lost to the team of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Noli de Castro.

“If and when I declare to run for President,” it would be based “on a vision and platform of good governance,” she said.

“I will not just be a whim—because I want to run—and timing. It will be based on a platform and vision for our country. A vision of good governance, sustainable development, transparency and accountability to the people,” she said.

During the NPC Christmas party that Cojuangco hosted on Monday at the Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club, the talk was of an Escudero-Legarda or Legarda-Escudero ticket in 2010.

According to Legarda, the “informal agreement” was for Cojuangco to anoint the topnotcher in the presidential surveys as the party standard-bearer.

“Of course, [Cojuangco] will endorse the one who’s winnable,” she said.

Legarda and Escudero are both members of NPC which also counts 28 congressmen and hundreds of local officials from governors down to mayors in its roster.

Legarda did not rule out the NPC coalescing with other parties. “The party is strong in itself but coalitions are usually entered into during elections.”

As for Senator Manuel Villar and Vice President Noli de Castro, the two other known presidential aspirants that have been consistently topping the surveys, she said: “I can take on anyone. In the end I only compete with myself, not with other people.” inquirer.net

Villar, de Castro top Moro online survey on 2010 polls

Former Senate President Manuel Villar and Vice-President Noli de Castro topped an online survey of possible candidates for the 2010 presidential elections, an online report said Tuesday.

The website luwaran.com said Villar topped the survey with 294 votes followed by de Castro with 240 votes of the total 1088 votes cast since November 1 this year.

Sen. Loren Legarda came third with 197 or 18.1 percent of the votes; Sen. Panfilo Lacson came fourth with 191 votes or 17.6 percent; Sen. Richard Gordon, fifth with 64 votes or 5.9 percent; Sen. Mar Roxas, sixth with 54 votes or 5 percent; and former President Joseph Estrada, seventh and last with 48 votes or 4.4 percent.

The last vote was cast on December 1, 2008.

The online survey asked readers: “Who do you want to be president of the Philippines in 2010?” Only Moros were urged to participate in the survey, but there is no way to check whether this guideline is followed strictly.

A luwaran insider considered the result of the survey as reflective of the general sentiment of the Moros not only in Mindanao or elsewhere in the Philippines but even those who are working or residing overseas. He referred especially to the rankings of Roxas and Estrada, whom he said were identified as two of those most hated by Moros in an online survey conducted earlier for this purpose.

However, he admitted that the survey is not very scientific as it can be manipulated by unscrupulous individuals or groups. abs-cbnnews.com

Villar tops SWS satisfaction poll

Former Senate president Manuel Villar Jr. has received the highest public satisfaction rating among top government officials in a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The quarterly survey was conducted prior to Villar’s resignation as Senate president last week.

The Third Quarter 2008 Social Weather Survey found 61 percent satisfied and 17 percent dissatisfied with the performance of Villar in the last three months.

The non-commissioned survey, conducted from Sept. 24 to 27, used face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults in Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

SWS said Villar’s net satisfaction rating declined by nine points from a “very good” 52 percent in June to a “good” 43 in September.

“It has been over 40 in all but one quarter since SWS rated his performance as Senate President in September 2006,” SWS said.

The latest survey also found 58 percent satisfied and 24 percent dissatisfied with Vice President Noli de Castro, for a net rating of +34.

“Vice President De Castro’s latest net satisfaction rating is a good +34, three points down from a good +37 in June 2008,” SWS said.

“His net performance rating has been over +30 in all but three quarters since he took office four years ago.”

Meanwhile, Speaker Prospero Nograles’s rating has remained negative at -12 (24 percent satisfied and 36 percent dissatisfied).

“Nograles’s new net satisfaction rating went to poor -12 in September after hitting a record-low -15 in June,” SWS said.

“It was also a poor net -12 in March 2008, when SWS first rated his performance as Speaker of the House of Representatives.”

The survey also showed 29 percent satisfied and 33 percent dissatisfied with Chief Justice Reynato Puno, giving him a net rating of -3.

“Net satisfaction with Chief Justice Puno has remained neutral since the SWS rated his performance in March 2007. His latest net rating of -3 compares with +3 previously,” SWS said.

The SWS describes net satisfaction ratings of +50 and above as “very good,” +30 to +49 as “good,” +10 to +29 “moderate,” -9 to +9 “neutral,” -20 to -10 “poor,” -49 to -30 “bad,” and -50 or lower “very bad.”

Meanwhile, the SWS said public satisfaction with top government institutions barely changed in the latest survey.

The September survey found 46 percent satisfied and 26 percent dissatisfied with the performance of the Senate, or a moderate net +21, six points down from a moderate +27 in June 2008.

The latest survey also found 38 percent satisfied and 28 percent dissatisfied with the House of Representatives, or a moderate net +11, the same as in the previous quarter.

It found 39 percent satisfied and 30 percent dissatisfied with the performance of the Supreme Court, or a neutral net +9, just three points up from a neutral +6 in June 2008, SWS said.

The survey found 31 percent satisfied and 34 percent dissatisfied with the Cabinet, or neutral net -3, barely changing from the neutral -9 in June, SWS said.

Sampling error margins of ±2.5 percent for national percentages, ±6 percent for Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao, and ±4 percent for the rest of Luzon were applied in the survey.

At Malacañang, presidential adviser on political affairs Gabriel Claudio said yesterday it was too early to predict the chances of any one candidate in the 2010 presidential elections.

“We’re a long way from 2010, and it would be too early for anybody to rejoice,” he said. “We are all aware of how dynamic public standings can be.”

Villar tops MILF poll

In Davao City, Villar topped the presidential poll of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s official website, Luwaran.com.

Former President Joseph Estrada, who launched an all-out war against the separatists in 2000, landed at the bottom of the online poll.

The MILF website first posted the question “Who do you want to be president in 2010?” last Nov. 1 and a total of 963 voters have already clicked in their choices.

Villar garnered 242 votes or a total of 25.1 percent of the total votes in the online poll.

Vice President Noli de Castro placed second to Villar with 218 votes or 22.6 percent of the total.

Senators Panfilo Lacson and Loren Legarda were in third and fourth places with 176 and 171 votes or 18.3 percent and 17.8 percent.

Sen. Richard Gordon emerged fifth with 60 votes or 6.2 percent, while Sen. Manuel Roxas II was sixth with 51 votes or 5.3 percent.

Estrada got 45 votes or 4.7 percent of the total votes in the online poll.

It could not be ascertained if those who participated in the Luwaran.com survey were all MILF members, or if there were those who browsed the website regularly or even at random.

In a separate poll, the MILF posted the question, “Who is the Moro’s most hated Filipino leader today?” wherein voting started last Sept. 20 and ended Nov. 1.

There were at least 1,487 who replied to the online question. Cotabato Vice Gov. Emmanuel Piñol topped the list with 536 votes or 36 percent of the total.

Mrs. Arroyo emerged the second Filipino leader most hated by the Moros with 406 votes or 27.3 percent.

Estrada ranked third, with 169 votes or 11.4 percent, closely followed by Roxas with 168 votes or 11.3 percent.

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat, who staunchly opposed the signing of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain, also figured in the most hated list with 74 votes or five percent.

Others in the list of Filipino leaders the Moro hated most were Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, 50 votes or 3.4 percent; Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, 19 votes or 1.3 percent;

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, 16 votes or 1.1 percent; former senator Franklin Drilon, 15 votes or 1 percent; while Press

Secretary Jesus Dureza and Cotabato Gov. Jesus Sacdalan got 12 votes each or 0.8 percent, and Makati Rep. Teddy Locsin got 10 votes or 0.7 percent. philstar.com

Ouster to spur Villar bid, says ally

MANILA, Philippines—Far from being discouraged, Senator Manuel Villar’s ouster from the Senate presidency will spur him even more to pursue the presidency, according to Villar ally Gilbert Remulla.

According to Remulla, the coup that ousted Villar and ensconced Senator Juan Ponce Enrile as Senate President, was engineered by some senators who were also eyeing the presidency.

It was primarily caused by Villar’s strong showing in the most recent surveys, said Remulla, spokesperson of Villar’s Nacionalista Party.

Vice President Noli de Castro, another close friend of Villar and a possible rival in the 2010 presidential race, said that although Villar might still be nursing his wounds, he should see a silver lining amidst the gloom of his ouster.

“Now he has a lot of time to campaign,” said a chuckling De Castro.

While still in the Senate, De Castro was part of the chamber’s exclusive Wednesday Group that included Villar, and Senators Joker Arroyo, Francis Pangilinan and Ralph Recto, who is now the socio-economic planning secretary.

While Villar has announced his plans to run for President, De Castro, who is reportedly being considered to be the administration’s standard-bearer in 2010, has not made any mention of his inclination.

Both have consistently enjoyed high ratings in the polls.

De Castro, who is reportedly being paired with Batangas Governor Vilma Santos as the vice presidential candidate, said he has not received any feelers from Malacañang or the ruling Lakas-CMD.

“We have not talked politics. Even the President isn’t talking politics. We are more focused on coming up with solutions to the global crisis. It won’t be good to talk politics in the face of such a crisis,” he told reporters in Malacañang where he spoke at the Carbon Cutting Congress vs Climate Change.

De Castro said he was not thinking about the time frame for declaring his interest in running for President.

“What’s important to me is the time to serve the people because we have barely two years to serve as Vice President,” he said.

He said he doubted that the Senate coup, reportedly instigated by Senators Loren Legarda, Manuel Roxas and Panfilo Lacson, was related to the 2010 presidential elections.

“Even when I was still part of the 12th Congress, there were coups. That’s nothing extraordinary. There’s no such thing as a permanent Senate President,” he said. inquirer.net

Villar closes in on Noli - SWS

Former Senate president Manuel Villar has narrowed the lead of Vice President Noli de Castro in the latest survey on presidential hopefuls for the 2010 elections.

The number of Filipinos who prefer Villar as the next president went up by three points from 25 percent in June to 28 in September, based

on the Social Weather Stations (SWS) third quarter survey for 2008.

In the survey taken by Pulse Asia in October, Villar’s score went up by five percent to 17 percent from its last survey in July.

De Castro, however, remained the top choice to succeed President Arroyo in 2010 in both surveys.

Villar and former President Joseph Estrada tied in second place with 17 percent; followed by Senators Francis Escudero, 15 percent and Loren Legarda at 13 percent, based on the Pulse Asia survey conducted from Oct. 14 to 27.

At sixth place was Sen. Panfilo Lacson with seven percent, Sen. Manuel Roxas II with six percent, and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Bayani Fernando and evangelist Bro. Eduardo “Eddie” Villanueva at one percent each.

Pulse Asia’s survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 representative adults aged 18 years old and above.

De Castro also topped the SWS September survey with 29 percent, lower than his June score at 31.

Villar came in close second with 28 percent followed by Legarda at 26 percent.

The non-commissioned survey, fielded over Sept. 24 to 27, used face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults in Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Lacson was fourth with 17 percent, followed by Sen. Francis Escudero (16 percent), Estrada (13 percent), and Roxas also at 13 percent.

Mrs. Arroyo remained the choice of one percent of the respondents along with Fernando.

Also at one percent are Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Juan Ponce Enrile, Francis Pangilinan, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Richard Gordon, Jinggoy Estrada, Jamby Madrigal and Pia Cayetano, and former Speaker Jose de Venecia.

Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. both received 0.5 percent.

Nine percent of the respondents could not give any answer and nine percent had no one to recommend, the SWS said.

The scores of former president Estrada and Lacson also improved by two points and one point, respectively.

The mere mention of Legarda’s and Roxas’ names, however, was steady.

In the survey, the respondents were asked who are good leaders who should succeed President Arroyo in 2010.

The respondents were allowed to give up to three names of presidential contenders.