According to the latest Pulse Asia survey, the Manny Villar vs Noynoy Aquino for President is now virtually equal.
This is due to the decrease of Aquino's vote from 45 percent to 37 percent as of the January 2010 survey, which came from a 45-percent voting preference last December.
On the other hand, Manny Villar increased by 12 percentage points from 23 percent to 35 percent. This is despite the C-5 extension controversy against him, in which Villar is being accused of enriching himself and his property companies from the the said project.
Pulse Asia said that the Aquino vs Villar have virtually the same voter preference since the survey had a ±2 error margin. 
The survey was conducted on January 22 to 26, while the report of the Senate Committee of the Whole seeking Villar's censure first made headlines on January 18.
Meanwhile, the same survey shows that former President Joseph Estrada still ranked third with 12 percent, but administration candidate Gilberto Gibo Teodoro Jr.'s remains at 5-percent rating.
Bangon Pilipinas’ Eddie Villanueva got 2 percent, while Senator Richard Gordon of the Bagumbayan Party got 1 percent.
Lastly, Senator Jamby Madrigal had 0.5 percent, Olongapo City Councilor John Carlos JC delos Reyes had 0.3, Vetallano Acosta with 0.2, and environmentalist Nicanor Perlas with 0.05.
Out of the 1,800 respondents aged 18 and above, six percent of them were still undecided and did not give any answer.
With this, the Liberal Party said it will reassess its campaign strategy since the TV and radio ads of Manny Villar are very frequent. Noynoy Aquino has had three TV ads so far.
"I think it is time to also re-assess the messaging of Senator Noy," LP spokesperson and Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada said. "Maybe it is not resonating, we have to re-assess that, and we will have to look also if there is a need to adjust our campaign strategy knowing for a fact that [the official] campaign [period] is about to start soon."
"Maybe we would now focus more on what Noynoy intends to do for the country, how he plans to improve certain areas as defined in his platform so that the public will see that Noynoy has specific programs for the next administration". Tañada added.
Now, for my personal opinion...
I think the surveys shows that the Cory magic seem not to work that much lately. Noynoy, also being the lone son of martyr former Senator Benigno Ninoy Aquino Jr. is also having a hard time convincing the people that he can be capable of loving the country just like his parents did.
Apparently, I also think that ads still work these days and the camp of Manny Villar is doing their homework very effectively.
Although Senator Manny Villar admitted that he is really spending money for this strategy, it may also be against him later since the C-5 extension controversy is all about billions of money.
We must be reminded that the presidency does not only require honesty and integrity, but also skills and experience that he can use to improve the economy of the country. One may say that he will not steal, and it can be true. But if he is not capable of controlling the people around him, then the stealing will not stop. It only changed the beneficiaries. Now, can Noynoy control the people around him? It's hard to say...
However, a skill or experience of a person whose name has been into a huge controversy cannot be just taken for granted. I am not saying that Manny Villar is guilty, but as they say; if there's no smoke, then there is no fire. If one turned himself from rags to riches, it does not necessarily follow that he can also do it on a nationwide aspect.
Lastly, let us not forget that there are other presidential candidates to be observed. They may not be as popular as the two names above, but they still deserved to be known and analyzed.
Again, I am not here to campaign or to destroy one's character.
In the end, I still hope that the Filipino people will choose a presidential candidate not because of the ads or popularity nor the image of his parents.
Let's vote a candidate because of his integrity, history and capability.
We must learn therefore how to vote wisely.
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