NPC says Loren is VP bet to beat

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – BARRING ANY HITCHES, THE LEADERSHIP OF THE NATIONALIST PEOPLE’S COALITION (NPC) EXPRESSED CONFIDENCE YESTERDAY THAT SEN. LOREN LEGARDA WILL EMERGE AS THE WINNER IN THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL RACE IN THE MAY 2010 ELECTIONS.
NPC spokesman Rex Gatchalian said they are not surprised at all that the female legislator is leading in the surveys, as shown by the latest one released by Pulse Asia. He added this “elated” party members and even “inspired” them to do more in helping her candidacy.
“We always believed that intrinsically Loren is a strong candidate. She is the genuine candidate of the masses. This can be attested by the fact that it is the masses that embraced and supported her which explains why she topped the senatorial race twice.”
Legarda lost the vice presidential post to Noli de Castro, a former colleague in ABS-CBN, in the May 2004 elections. Though she insisted she won in the polls, her candidacy – for the second time next year – meant she may have waived her rights in contesting it.
Gatchalian said Legarda’s continued strong showing can be attributed to her dedicated and sincere efforts to promote her advocacies of saving the environment, championing the cause of women and children and protecting the interests of OFWs.
“I think the people like what they see in her performance as a public servant and in her commitment to further her advocacies.” Gatchalian, a congressman from Valenzuela, explained.
Legarda has a tie-up with Sen. Manny Villar, standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party.
“They can see that she is a hands-on working public servant who is committed to fighting climate change and hunger as well as in providing jobs to the people. Therefore this makes her the true candidate of the masses and it follows that they expect her to be a hard-working vice president,” Gatchalian added.
Gatchalian issued the statements after survey results conducted by Pulse Asia showed that Legarda, the NPC’s bet for vice president, registered a significant jump in the ratings and is now statistically tied with Liberal Party candidate Sen. Mar Roxas II.
Roxas got 39 percent of the voter’s support from 37 percent in the October survey, while Legarda garnered 37 percent, up 14 points from 23 percent in the Pulse Asia survey last October.
Pulse Asia said both Loren and Mar are statistically tied in first place due to a +/- 2 percent margin of error but it was the lady senator who registered the highest jump in the ratings among all the candidates.
Gatchalian likewise observed the strong showing of NPC senatorial bet former Sen. Vicente Sotto III who garnered 40.2 percent in the same survey, placing him in the top 10 among the senatorial hopefuls.