Education Secretary Raul Roco is more popular than President Gloria Arroyo and might be elected in case there is a snap poll this year, said a survey by Ibon Foundation, an economic research group.

The Ibon survey, conducted from July 11 to 28, showed Roco as the most favoured bet, getting 19.96 percentage points.

Jailed ex-president Joseph Estrada came in second with 14.08 per cent, and Arroyo a third with 11.13 per cent.

The Ibon poll asked a total of 1,014 respondents throughout the country the question: "If the presidential elections were held today, whom would you choose for president?"

The question was open-ended because there was no list of candidates to choose from.

However, only 47 per cent of the respondents answered the question. The rest were undecided.

Roco appeared to be the top choice because of his unblemished image, said Ibon research director, Antonio Tujan.

In the 1998 polls, Roco, a presidential candidate, came third, following Estrada and former House speaker, Jose de Venecia.

Arroyo's ranking is a sign of the people's rejection of her policies and actions as head of state.
"This rejection is reflected by the votes for Estrada, which are regarded as votes against Arroyo," noted Tujan. Arroyo came to power in January, 2001, and is finishing Estrada's term until 2004.

Estrada was ousted by military-backed street protests that were launched by those who were outraged by the abrupt ending of the impeachment trial of the former president in the Senate in late December.

The Ibon survey also showed Arroyo's high net satisfaction rating, up at 4.24 per cent, from a negative 8.17 last January.

Another poll conducted by HB and A Research International, conducted in Metro Manila from July 26 to 29, showed a 100 per cent increase in Arroyo's net satisfaction rating to 19, from 8 in the previous month.

The president's state of the nation address (Sona) last July "may have" convinced more people to take her side, said HB and A executive director, Anthony Abaya.

The HB and A survey was taken a few days after Arroyo's speech on July 22. "We can only speculate that perhaps people found enough sincerity in the Sona, that people are too tired of the squabbling in the Senate and that they realised we should get our act together," Abaya said.

The findings also indicated a "higher level of hopefulness" among the Filipino people despite perceptions that the economy is in poor shape, Ibon said.

Many said the survey could be used by the political parties when choices for the presidential candidates in 2004 will be made.

"The 2004 election is farthest from the president's mind. What is important is the peace and order situation, economic uplift of the people, and the fight against poverty," said Press Secretary, Ignacio Bunye.

The survey does not completely represent the public's sentiments since 47 of the respondents remained undecided, noted Bunye.