An independent survey confirmed Thursday that Lakas-Kampi CMD presidential candidate Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. is breaking through the double-digit glass ceiling of voters preference in the May 10 elections, campaign spokesperson Mike Toledo said Thursday.

"He is (at) double digit (percentage levels of preference) now. He will continue to surge. We believe the local machinery will provide another 10 to 15 percent," Toledo underscored. More than 5,000 persons responded in the independent survey conducted nationwide.

Toledo also said that the survey was conducted on a larger survey sample, three times more than the usual 1,500 individuals supposedly interviewed by enumerators of other surveys.

The survey ending March 7 was conducted by Campaign and Images with more than 5,000 respondents nationwide who were asked the question of who among the 10 presidential candidates do they think is capable of governing the presidency.

Teodoro posted an impressive 24 percent in the survey placing second to Sen. Manny Villar's 31 percent, Teodoro, Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and former president Joseph Estrada came in third and fourth respectively at 20 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

Elated by the survey result, Teodoro expressed confidence that his popularity rating among the youth will propel him and surge once the campaign period for local government candidates starts on March 26.

Seventy percent of local government candidates are affiliated with the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD, a dominant party that is expected to win the majority positions in the May elections.

Teodoro’s spokesman stressed that local officials support could bring in “a 10 to 15 percent increase to Gibo’s popularity rating.”

“And that is a conservative estimate considering that Lakas is one of the strongest political parties in the country,” Toledo said, in an interview. “Gibo’s popularity among the youth and the support of the local candidates of Lakas-Kampi-CMD are the winning factors that will propel him to presidency.”

Despite this, the Lakas standard bearer urged voter groups, especially the youth, not to let survey results influence them in voting or rooting for a particular candidate but should, instead, focus on the candidate’s qualifications and capability to lead the country.

Teodoro stressed that voters should junked “losers’ mentality” in which individuals opt to give their ballots to candidates of lesser competence on the belief that the candidate of their choice will not win anyway.