Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Senator Manny Villar and Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential bet Gilbert Teodoro Jr. are closing in on leading candidate Benigno Aquino III of the Liberal Party.

This was bared Monday by survey group StratPOLLS, Inc. which conducted its survey from January 16 to 22, 2010.

Prof. Alberto S. Sureta Jr., StratPOLLS, Inc. executive director, said in a press conference that based on the results of the survey Aquino is on top with 36 percent, followed by Villar, 26 percent; former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada of the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP), 15 percent; and Teodoro, 11 percent.

“One of the most significant findings of the survey was the perception by 26 percent of the respondents that Sen. Villar seems to have found a ‘second wind’ in his uphill battle against frontrunner Sen. Aquino who remains ‘stagnant’ with 36 percent,” Sureta said.

Sureta noted that Villar’s improvement in survey standings came in the wake of repeated criticisms from his fellow senators who accused him of involvement in the multi-billion peso C-5 Road Expansion controversy.

Taking the fifth slot in the presidential race was Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon with five percent; evangelist Eduardo “Eddie” Villanueva, four percent; Sen. Jamby Madrigal, one percent; and John Carlos “JC” de los Reyes with 0.25 percent.

In the same survey, Senator Mar Roxas of the Liberal Party widened his lead over his rivals in the vice presidential race with 47 percent. His closest rival, Sen. Loren Legarda of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), posted a rating of 25 percent.

Sureta, a political science professor in the University of Santo Tomas (UST), said the survey, a non-commissioned undertaking, involved some 2,400 respondents of voting age from 30 key cities of the country – from Vigan City in the north to General Santos City in the south.