MANILA, Philippines?The Nationalist People?s Coalition (NPC) tandem of Senators Loren Legarda and Francis ?Chiz? Escudero has emerged as the dream presidential team for the 2010 elections based on a survey by Pulse Asia.

Loren was the most preferred candidate for president while Escudero was the most preferred bet for vice president beating other projected combinations for the Nacionalista Party (Senate President Manny Villar and Vice President Noli de Castro) and the Liberal Party (Senators Manuel Roxas and Francisco Pangilinan).

Pulse Asia asked respondents on their preferred presidential tandems for 2010 based on their party affiliations (although De Castro is an independent, he is a peer of Villar in the Wednesday Group).

The survey covered 1,200 respondents aged 18 years old and above and conducted using face-to-face interviews from July 1 to 14.

The Legarda-Escudero team notched a 40 percent share nationwide versus the 26 percent for Villar-De Castro and 13 percent for the Roxas-Pangilinan team.

The survey showed that the Legarda-Escudero team consistently cornered at least 40 percent of respondents in Luzon, Mindanao and the National Capital Region and all income classes (A, B, C, D and E).