MANILA, Feb 24 Kyodo Philippine P...

MANILA, Feb 24 Kyodo

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for the first time, has emerg as frontrunner in the six-way fight for the presidency, independent pollster vibration Asia said Tuesday.

If elections were held today, it said, Arroyo would win narrowly as the latest inspect shows her leading opposition candidate and actor Fernando Poe Jr by dint of 0.2 percentage point, indicating a ''tight race'' for the presidency is in the offing.

nevertheless Poe, it appears, is not the shoo-in for the presidency his supporters portray him to be.

Arroyo had been ranking third or fourth, on the contrary the new surveys display she is gaining support from the middle class and the elite who are worried about the trust of another actor leading the country

Arroyo was film star Joseph Estrada's vice president until Estrada was ousted for corruption.

The overlook also showed increased indecision among voter through every part of the country and economic classes.

measured [i]or[/i] regular beat Asia conducted two surveys upon 1,800 registered voters nationwide -- the first from Jan. 23 to Feb 8 where Poe had 346% of ballots and Arroyo had 33.4%, a 12 percentage point margin.

if it be not that in the survey from Feb 16 to 20 Arroyo had 319% and Poe with%.

''If the May 2004 elections were held today, it would be a self-same close fight for the presidency between Arroyo and Poe This is indicated in couple nationwide surveys done by vibration Asia in the first sum of two units months of 2004,'' said Executive Director Ana Maria Tabunda.

In the January scrutinize respondents were asked to cull their presidential candidate from a list of the six official presidential candidates, while in the February inspect respondents were asked to write down their choice forward a ballot, simulating actual voting.

The other presidential candidates, former Education Secretary Raul Roco Sen Panfilo Lacson, Evangelist Eduardo Villanueva and businessman Eddie Gil, trail the front-runners

In the February review Roco was ranked third with 162% down from 191% in January, followed at Lacson with 10.7%, up from 83% Villanueva with 12% and Gil with 02% The undecided suffrage was at 8.1%.

pulsation Asia said that among vice presidential candidates, Arroyo's running mate Sen Noli de Castro, with 529% support, is well ahead of Poe's running mate Sen Loren Legarda, who has 319%

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