Sen. Francis Chiz Escudero has consistently topped trust ratings among selected public officials in four surveys conducted by Pulse Asia in the past year.
The polls show that the 39-year- old Escudero was the only one among five probable presidential candidates, whose ratings did not dip below 70 percent, averaging 73.8 percent in the polls that were conducted in July, October, February, May last year.
Closely following Escudero were partymate Senator Loren Legarda who scored an average of 71.6 percent and Senator Mar Roxas with 69 percent. At fourth was Sen. Manny Villar with 63.2 percent while Vice President Noli De Castro trailed at fifth with 50 percent.
In its latest survey held from May 4-17, Roxas, Escudero, Villar, and Legarda were in a virtual dead heat as the most trusted public official in the country.
Roxas had a “big trust” rating of 73 percent, followed by Escudero (71 percent), Villar (70 percent) and Legarda (69 percent). Vice President De Castro had a rating of 48 percent while President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was at 25 percent.
The same Pulse Asia survey also shows Escudero placing second to De Castro in a very close race with three other presidentiables if elections were held today.
De Castro topped the poll with 19 percent, closely followed by Escudero at 17 percent, former President Joseph Estrada at 16 percent, and Villar at 15 percent. Legarda was at fifth with 12 percent. Roxas, on the other hand, was trailing at sixth with 8 percent.
Source: www.mb.com.ph
