MANILA - If Senator Francis Escudero decides to run for vice-president instead of the presidency, he stands a better chance of winning the race, based on the latest Pulse Asia survey.

In a survey of 1,800 respondents from July 28 to Aug. 10, 2009, Escudero led the vice-presidential survey with 21%.

Sen. Loren Legarda was in a statistical tie with Escudero with 19% support. The survey has a margin of error of plus/minus 2%.

Legarda, however, has expressed interest in running for president in May 2010. She ran for vice-president in 2004, but lost to Vice-President Noli de Castro. 

In the July 28-August 10 survey, de Castro followed Escudero and Legarda with 15% of respondents choosing the incumbent vice-president.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay and Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan were next with 12% support.

The names of the five candidates were also included in Pulse Asia's presidential survey, where Escudero placed 4th with 12%.

Legarda failed to make it to the top 5 of the presidential survey.

The presidential survey was topped by Senator Manuel Villar with 25%, followed by former President Joseph Estrada with 19%.

Ana Tabunda, Pulse Asia's chief research fellow, said the names of the five "presidentiables" were included by the research firm in its vice-presidential list "just in case."

"We've been hearing some of these personalities might be running for vice-president. Some of them have actually been angling for the presidential position... We do not know how these things will turn out," Tabunda told ANC's Top Story on Wednesday.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno was also included in the Pulse Asia survey, but Tabunda said he was way behind.

She added that Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III was not included in the list because his possible vice-presidential run was not yet in the news when the survey was conducted.

Aquino's possible run "for a higher office" was floated after the death of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino.

The late former president passed away August 1 or 3 days after Pulse Asia released its questionnaire. - With a report from Lynda Jumilla, ABS-CBN News