MANILA, Philippines - Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III' has denied insinuations that he was influencing the results of Pulse Asia surveys in his favor.

Aquino, who is eyeing the presidency next year, has been leading the Pulse Asia surveys since he declared his presidential bid.

?I already divested from Pulse Asia when Noynoy decided to run for the presidency," said Rapa Lopa, Aquino's first cousin, responding to the statement of Zambales Rep. Milagros "Mitos" Magsaysay, who questioned the integrity of the polling firm.

Magsaysay said it would put a cloud of doubt in the surveys conducted by Pulse Asia if reports were true that Lopa was still connected with the firm.

But Lopa denied this, saying that polling firm is now majority owned by the academics that manage it, headed by its chairman Felipe Miranda, its president Ronald Holmes and its executive director, Dr. Ana Tabunda.

?It is my belief that the men and women of Pulse are people with tremendous credentials and are highly respected by their peers in the academic community," he said.

?I strongly believe that their unquestionable credibility and the rigor they bring to their work has proven time and again that the institution's survey findings have been relatively consistent with actual electoral results since they started in 1999," he further said.

Lopa said he was no longer surprised by the remarks of Magsaysay, a staunch ally of the administration and has publicly expressed her support for its standard-bearer, former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.