Gordon elated by student mock polls (4:32 p.m.)

MANILA -- Bagumbayan standard bearer Senator Richard Gordon said people have been discerning in their choices for president after two separate student mock polls showed him on top of the heap.

In a recent mock poll, mass communication students from the University of the Philippines in Diliman picked Gordon over popularity survey front-runners Senator Noynoy Aquino (Liberal Party) and Senator Manny Villar (Nacionalista Party).

Gordon garnered 139 votes, followed by Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer Gilbert Teodoro with 107 votes while cousin Noynoy had 48 votes.

“I'm happy that I was No. 1 in UP. It's not a survey, it's a mock election. Tunay na eleksyon yun. Ang nangyari, mababa si Noynoy, sumunod sa akin si Gibo. Doon makikita na nag-iisip ang tao. That's what we need to do,” he said in a statement.

“We have to put in mind that it is the record of service, the track record, and not the surveys, that matter in choosing the next leaders of our country,” he added.

Gordon finished law in UP in 1975 and even served as a member of the school’s highest student body, the University Student Council (USC) in 1969.

In January, students from the Lyceum of the Philippines University in Manila picked Gordon among the presidential aspirants in a mock poll done after a forum.

Gordon got 59 votes, followed by Gilbert Teodoro (23), Aquino (20), Villanueva (17), Perlas (10), Estrada (9), Manny Villar (7), and de los Reyes (2). (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)