Vice-President Noli De Castro and Senators Loren Legarda and Manny Villar remained the top bets to succeed President Arroyo in 2010, a survey by research firm Social Weather Stations said Tuesday.

Thirty-one percent of survey respondents chose de Castro as Mrs. Arroyo successor compared to 28 percent who chose Legarda and 27 percent who chose Villar.

The Fourth Quarter 2008 Social Weather Survey, fielded over November 28-December 1, 2008, said other top contenders for the presidential race are: Sen. Francis Escudero (19%), Sen. Panfilo Lacson (14%), former Pres. Joseph Estrada (11%), and Sen. Mar Roxas (10%).

The survey found two percent mentioning Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando, while a percent mentioned Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, President Arroyo, Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos, Sen. Ralph Recto, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri.

Seven percent could not give an answer, and 12 percent had no one to recommend.

SWS said it did not give a list of names to prompt the respondents.

The research firm said that compared to the previous quarter, those with an increase in mentions were:  Escudero (3 points), de Castro, Legarda, and Mayor Binay (2 points) and Fernando (1 point).

The mentions of Senators Lacson and Roxas went down by three points, Estrada by two points and Villar by one point.

In a press statement, de Castro thanked the public for their trust and confidence in his leadership. "My heartfelt gratitude for the trust and confidence given by our people. I take their support as my inspiration and use it to direct my efforts and actions toward programs that are truly beneficial to the public, especially the poor," he said.

He added that as Vice-President, he will continue to put the welfare of the people above all interests.

"At this point in time, politicking should take a back seat. What our country needs right now is for us to unite and work together regardless of political affiliation to create and sustain more jobs for our people. That should be our top priority," he said.