MANILA, Philippines -- Sorry but you?re not on the list.

Not finding his name on Pulse Asia?s list of nine winnable presidential candidates in 2010, Sen. Richard Gordon, a presidential hopeful, has lashed out at the polling firm, insisting that people, not surveys, elect leaders.

?Election is not about popularity, money, or political party. It is about the careful choosing of our nation?s next leaders who should have clear vision and right values, and the competence, integrity and reliability,? Gordon said in a statement Sunday.

?People -- not surveys -- elect leaders. Otherwise, let us not have elections anymore, but coronations,? he added.

Complainant No. 2

Gordon wasn?t the only one complaining.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chair Bayani Fernando, a member of the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats party, wondered why his own party did not consider him as a possible standard-bearer in the 2010 election.

Fernando, who turned the metropolis? major streets into a pink zone because of his penchant for pink-painted road barriers, overpasses and sidewalks, was the first to declare his presidential ambition.

He called up a Cabinet member the other day to complain about the short list of presidential contenders announced on Thursday by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, Lakas secretary general.

The list did not include Fernando.

Gordon said choosing the country?s next leaders should not be decided on by surveys where only a small portion of the population participate.

Gordon said he had faith that Filipino voters were mature enough ?not to be swayed by survey results and wise enough to consider the track record of political candidates in choosing the country?s next leaders.?

Mind conditioning

He also said survey results should be kept private to prevent mind conditioning.

?[The results of the surveys] becloud people?s minds. They should look beyond the surveys and base their decisions on the qualifications of the candidates,? Gordon said.

Later in the day, during an interview with radio station dwIZ, Gordon said he was ?disappointed? with the way the government and media, were focusing, this early, on poll surveys and political campaigns.

?The rich can commission surveys. Surveys condition the minds of the people to vote for big names, rich people ? so we should not easily believe surveys,? he said.

Winning 9 candidates

According to the Pulse Asia survey, had the election been held last month, it would have been a ?very close race? among four candidates?Vice President Noli de Castro, Sen. Francis Escudero, former President Joseph Estrada and Sen. Manuel Villar.

The survey, conducted in February, found ?nearly the same overall voter preferences? for De Castro (19 percent), Escudero (17 percent), Estrada (16 percent) and Villar (15 percent).

Trailing behind but still on the list were Senators Loren Legarda (12 percent), Manuel ?Mar? Roxas II (8 percent) and Panfilo Lacson (6 percent), Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay (2 percent) and Fernando (1 percent).

Still anybody?s game

The presidential election scheduled for May 2010 was still anybody?s game, according to the survey.

?But while Filipinos continue to be divided in their choice for the country?s next president, virtually all of them have a favored presidential candidate, with less than 1 in 10 (4 percent) not expressing support for any of the nine individuals included in this survey?s presidential probe,? Pulse Asia said.

In the same survey, Binay was found slightly ahead of Gordon for preferred senatorial candidates, although it was statistically insignificant because of a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Binay (27.2 percent) and Gordon (26.9 percent) were in the 12th to 16th place.

Winnability is key

Besides presidential qualities, ?winnability is the magic word,? said presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio, quoting Zubiri.

Zubiri named Vice President De Castro and Senators Villar, Legarda and Gordon as the nation?s top leaders being considered the possible standard-bearer of Lakas in next year?s election.

He also said Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro could be the ?dark horse? but he should rank high in poll surveys in order to be on the list.