MANILA, Philippines - Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino has widened his lead in the race for the Philippine presidency, although support for former president Joseph "Erap" Estrada has risen sharply, an opinion poll showed on Friday.

With more than two months before the May 10 election, Pulse Asia said it was still too early to predict a winner, with the start of campaigning for 17,500 local positions at the end of March expected to lead to big swings in support.

Opposition lawmaker Aquino had support of 36 percent of voters in the Pulse Asia poll, down 1 percentage point from January, while his nearest rival, billionaire senator Manuel "Manny " Villar, dropped 6 points to 29 percent.