MANILA, Philippines - Liberal Party standard-bearer Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III downplayed Wednesday the results of the latest Pulse Asia survey, showing that he and Nacionalista Party bet Sen. Manny Villar are now deadlocked in the presidential race.

In a statement, Aquino said he was not surprised by the survey results since his rivals in the presidential race had a long headstart in the campaign.

"While I diligently perform my functions as a legislator, the others are practically campaigning full-time, neglecting their mandate with those who entrusted them with their votes," he said.

The oppositon senator also noted that Villar seemed to have forged an alliance with President Arroyo. He said even the President's own deputy spokesman, Gary Olivar, praised Villar for shunning a "negative campaigning style.”

"By the day, it is becoming clear that an unholy alliance is developing between this administration and my opponent. No wonder the Palace spokesman couldn’t restrain himself in expressing his gratitude to one of my opponents for keeping quiet on the many issues confronting this administration," Aquino said.

Olivar earlier denied rumors that Malacañang was secretly backing Villar despite fielding its own candidate, Lakas-Kampi standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro, in the presidential election.

“I think the reason some people say that is because he (Villar) has not been running his campaign purely on the basis of attacking the President—which I can’t say, unfortunately, of the other opposition candidates,” he said.

He added, however, that Villar's increase in ratings in the presidential surveys could be the people's own reaction to candidates who continue to criticize the President.

In an ANC presidential forum last Friday, Aquino stressed the need for “closure” of the various scandals that affected the Arroyo government. He added that there is a need to restore confidence in the institutions that Arroyo has supposedly “destroyed.”

For his part, Villar said Nacionalista stalwarts had led congressional probes on various scandals linked to the Arroyos, including the "Hello, Garci" election scandal, the botched $329 million NBN-ZTE telecommunications deal and the jueteng payola controversy.

He added, however, that there is separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary, adding that he “will not lift a finger to defend President Arroyo against any charges on her.”

Villar ads cost P543-M in 3 months

Aquino and Villar are statistically tied in the latest presidential survey by pollster Pulse Asia. The survey, conducted last January 22-26, showed  Aquino registering 37% of voter preferences and Villar getting 35%.

Aquino's rating dropped 8 percentage points since the last Pulse Asia survey while Villar's rating improved by 12 percentage points.

Across socio-demographic groups, Aquino led among Class D voters (40%) and voters aged 55-64 (38%) and 65 and up (42%). On the other hand, Villar is leading voter preferences among Class E voters (39%) and those aged 25-34 (42%).

Liberal Party director-general Chito Gascon, meanwhile, attributed Villar's increase in ratings to his massive campaign spending. He said data from AC Nielsen showed that Villar's camp spent as much as P70.43 million on ads in January, compared to P29.53 million for Gilbert Teodoro and P7.82 million for Aquino.

AC Nielsen also noted that Villar spent as much as P543 million on ads from October to December 2009, which put him as the only individual in the country's top 20 advertisers for the last quarter.

"It is clear that all-out TV advertising as a marketing gimmick has had an effect. We can also say that the latest survey is not yet reflective of how people will vote in the May 10 elections," he said.

In an interview on ANC's Dateline Philippines on Wednesday, Prof. Ronald Holmes, president of Pulse Asia, attributed Villar's gain of 12 percentage points to his "more sustained" marketing campaign.

He said this fact has been recognized by other presidential candidates. Holmes said some camps have complained about the 6 to 1 ratio of political ads in favor of Villar.

Holmes said this sustained campaign to get himself known has had a big impact on the public's perception of Villar.

'Sending the message is biggest challenge'

Aquino said the biggest challenge of his presidential campaign is how to send his message out of a clean, decent, transparent and accountable government to the voting public. He said his party will be putting out more ads in the coming days to address the concern.

The LP bet also said he expects the organizational strength of the party to be felt once the official campaign period starts this February.

Aquino said he was also on the receiving end of criticism when he first ran for congressman in 1998. He said that despite efforts to derail his candidacy, he was still able to muster enough votes to win the congressional race.

Finally, he reminded his supporters that he is still leading in the presidential surveys ever since he first declared his intention to run for president last year.

"I would like to assure everyone, especially our supporters, that as the formal campaign period starts, we will work harder to make sure that we remain on top of the fight and the hope of our people for a clean, competent and compassionate government through my tandem with Senator Mar Roxas will be fulfilled," he said.