Senators Noynoy Aquino and Manny Villar may lead the presidential surveys of Social Weather Stations and Issues and Advocacy Center, but former Defense Sec. Gibo Teodoro has the vote of the Iskolar ng Bayan, as shown in the mock polls conducted by the Alpha Sigma fraternity in the University of the Philippines Diliman last week.

One out of four, or precisely 1,669 of 6,604, student participants in the December 8 to 11 poll said they would vote for Teodoro. Aquino is not far behind with 1,481 votes, while Villar is a distant third with 577 votes.

"I think that shows that students are thinking out of the box, that even if President Macapagal-Arroyo is unpopular, it does not rub off on Gibo. There's no bandwagon effect," fraternity spokesperson Lauryel Castillo told Inquirer.net. The mock polls did not include the students' reasons for choosing a candidate but Castillo said Teodoro's "well thought" answers in the presidential forums held in schools might have convinced the students.

Gibo Teodoro at the Harapan: The ANC Presidential Forum in the University of Sto. Tomas

As for poll favorite Aquino's second place finish, fraternity member Mark Aguimatang says, "Maybe because he is perceived to be trying to get the sympathy votes; the Hacienda Luisita issue is also not helping him."

The previous Alpha Sigma mock polls conducted from September 8 to 15, before the filing of candidacy, was dominated by Sen. Chiz Escudero who gave up his presidential bid on October 28. Escudero got 690 votes, Villar 365, Aquino 278, Sen. Jamby Madrigal 258 and Sen. Mar Roxas 251, reports ABS-CBN News.

The mock poll aims to spread awareness of the importance of voting, fraternity spokesperson Simon Salinas told ABS-CBN News in September.