MANILA, Philippines ? For many congressmen, Sen. Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III is the sentimental favorite in the May presidential election, according to Rep. Antonio Cuenco, who himself is ?torn between two loves??Aquino and the administration candidate.

But pork barrel considerations are preventing them from revealing what?s in their hearts publicly, said Cuenco, a member of the administration Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

The Cebu representative Thursday disclosed that most colleagues he had talked with since early this month favored the son of President Corazon Aquino and martyred opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr.

Cuenco himself is undecided, even though his party has announced its selection of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. as its standard-bearer.

In an informal survey he conducted after Sen. Manuel ?Mar? Roxas II stepped aside as the Liberal Party?s candidate for president in favor of Aquino on Sept. 1, Cuenco said half of about a hundred lawmakers he had spoken with told him they were for Aquino.

Roxas has since accepted the offer to be Aquino?s running mate.

Cuenco said the next favored candidate of his fellow lawmakers was Sen. Manuel Villar, followed by Teodoro. Trailing behind were Sen. Francis Escudero and deposed President Joseph Estrada.

?The rough estimate is that majority of them are inclined for Noynoy. It?s as if he is the sentimental favorite. But that doesn?t mean to say they will vote for him,? he said in a phone interview.

Cuenco said his colleagues could very well dispute his findings, and stressed that his statements were just based on his impressions.

?There?s no formal survey in the sense that I listed their names. I?m not the SWS,? he said, referring to the survey firm Social Weather Stations. ?That?s my opinion. I?m not saying my conclusion is accurate. That?s my own assessment of the situation.?

Picture changed

Asked why he conducted the survey, he said all the talk today centered on politics.

Cuenco said that before Aquino announced his candidacy, his personal favorite among the aspirants was Villar, who usually led the surveys.

The lawmakers he had spoken with had the same sentiment then. The picture changed when Aquino entered the picture after his mother died of cancer on Aug. 1 and her funeral showed that ?Cory magic? remained alive among Filipinos.

Asked about Teodoro, Cuenco said the defense secretary came in late.

Cuenco, who had close ties with Aquino?s parents, said that he and Benigno Aquino used to meet regularly to discuss how to stop the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Cuenco recalled that he and his wife Nancy once helped keep former President Aquino in a Carmelite monastery in Cebu to protect her from Marcos.

?I?m having a hard time. My inclination is really toward Noynoy and, at the same time, I?m with Lakas,? Cuenco said. ?I?m having a really hard time. My heart is torn between two loves.?

Pork considerations

Cuenco noted that many lawmakers may opt not to talk about their preference this early, fearing their pork barrel allocations might be cut off by Malacañang.

The situation is still fluid, he said, adding that the ratings could change and politicians could gravitate toward whoever would seem to have the greatest chances of winning.

Teodoro Thursday shrugged off reports of Cabinet officials deserting the administration following Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo?s declaration that he would vote for Aquino although he was supportive of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

?That?s the tactic of the opposition to divide the Cabinet but I don?t know that many Cabinet members who won?t support me,? Teodoro said over the phone Thursday.

Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III Thursday denied he had announced in a radio interview he was for Aquino, saying he was misquoted.

?What I said was ?If for instance, I have sentiments for Noynoy Aquino, before I express those sentiments, I would resign first.? So I never said that I was for Noynoy, that I will resign because of Noynoy,? said Bello, a justice secretary under the Aquino administration.

?We love each other?

?Are they doubting my loyalty to the President? They know that I love the President very much, and we love each other. In the Cabinet, we love one another. Even Secretary Romulo, we still love him,? Bello said.

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said she would resign if she could not support the administration?s standard-bearer.

?He?s like my older brother. He has his views and we respect him,? Devanadera said when asked by reporters if she believed that Romulo should resign.

?That?s up to the individual. If I were in his position, I may act differently. I will toe the party line, that?s the kind of discipline I have,? said Devanadera, who is concurrent solicitor general.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo said Malacañang should review the background of its officials so it would have a sense of those who would gravitate toward Aquino.

?The administration will have difficulty in maintaining the Lakas-Kampi-CMD merger if these officials continue to switch loyalties,? Ocampo said. With reports from Jocelyn R. Uy, TJ Burgonio and Dona Z. Pazzibugan and Charlene Cayabyab, Inquirer Central Luzon