ESCUDERO TOPS MOCK POLLS
U-BELT'S CHOICE MIRRORS YOUTH VOTE FOR MAY - CHIZ

Sen. Chiz Escudero noted the result of the recent University Belt mock polls as a good measure of the preference of the youth in the May midterm elections.

Escudero topped the mock polls sponsored by the Local Government Development Foundation (Logodef) and had students of the University of the East, Centro Escolar University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran and San Jose Recoletos as respondents.

Of the 52 million voters in the elections in May, the youth make up 43 percent of the total, or voters with age between 20 and 34, Comelec registration data shows.

The mock polls also showed nine candidates belonging to the administration Team PNoy in the Magic 12 and four from the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

The Logodef mock polls was also closely similar to the results of the recent survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) that showed voters' preference for fresh idealism in the Senate.

Next to Escudero in the Logodef mock polls was Alan Peter Cayetano of Team PNoy which is among the youngest chosen by respondents in the polls.

In the SWS polls, the average age of 44.6 years among candidates who landed in the magic 12 of the recent SWS poll for senatorial preference conducted last February.

Escudero at 43 is among the youngest among the senatorial candidates.

"Voters appear to be looking for fresh ideas and energy in the Senate based on the survey results," Escudero said.

The youngest candidate in the top 12 of the SWS and the Logodef survey was 35-year old businessman Bam Aquino, a cousin of the President.

Escudero also noted that the results of both surveys indicate that the youth, who makes up the bulk of voters, has become a dominant force in society.

He said the survey results also manifested the age group of the voters who tend to choose the candidates that would best represent them.

Escudero himself has been a force for the youth in having their voice heard.

After passing the Philippine Bar in 1994 and obtaining a Masters degree in International and Comparative Law at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 1996, Escudero entered politics in 1998 when he was elected Representative of the First District of Sorsogon at 29 years old.

He served three terms during which he was appointed Assistant Majority Floor Leader and House Minority Floor Leader.

In 2007, Chiz ran and won as senator at age 38. He was one of the Senate's most productive members, filing numerous bills on electoral reforms, education, agriculture, justice, and human rights issues.