MANILA, Philippines — It is still possible for senatorial candidates from the Liberal Party-led Otso Diretso slate to pull off a surprise win in the coming elections even if few of them are doing well in pre-election surveys, Sen. Francis Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan, the LP president and the coalition’s campaign manager, said Tuesday after the release of Pulse Asia’s April 10 to 14 survey, which showed that Otso Diretso bets continue to lag behind administration candidates.
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In an interview on GMA’s “News to Go,” Pangilinan stressed the fight is not yet over.
“Sabi nga nila ang pinakamahalagang survey ay ‘yung araw ng halalan. At sa aking labing-walong taon bilang senador, ilang eleksyon na rin ang nadaanan natin bilang campaign manager at bilang kandidato, nakita natin, may mga pangyayari na sa huling dalawang linggo ng eleksyon, ‘yung mga nasa labas ng Top 12 pagdating ng araw ng halalan ay ‘come from behind’ ika nga at naipapanalo nila. Surprise victory ika nga,” he said.
(They said the most important survey is election day. In my 18 years of experience as a campaign manager and as a candidate, I saw instances that those outside the Top 12 will ‘come from behind’ and end up winning. Surprise victory, as they say.)
Voters will elect 12 senators to the 24-member Senate in the coming polls.
Pangilinan added: “Mula Number 12, magiging Number 1. Mula Number 13, nagiging Number 2. Mula Number 17, nagiging Number 6. So hindi pa tapos ang boxing, ika nga. Ipaglalaban natin ang bawat boto hanggang sa huli.”
(The number 12 becomes number 1. The number 13 becomes number 2. The number 17 becomes number 6. So the fight is not yet over. We will fight for every vote until the end.)
The Otso Diretso campaign manager is optimistic that voters will reject "corrupt and dishonest" candidates in the end.
Opposition bets in pre-election surveys
According to the Pulse Asia survey, Sen. Bam Aquino was the only one from the opposition slate who has a statistical chance of winning, settling at the 10th to 16th bracket. He has a voter preference rating of 28.8%.
Former Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, who previously made it to the winners’ circle, dropped to the 14th to 17th bracket with a voter preference of 24.5%.
Civic leader Samira Gutoc placed at the 24th to 29 bracket with a 5.9% voter support, while lawyers Chel Diokno and Romy Macalintal tied at 25th to 31st bracket with a 5.3% and 5.2% voter support, respectively.
Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano (5%) is at the 25th to 32nd spots and former Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada (3.6%) together with former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay (3.2%) at the 27th to 40th spots.
Sen. Cynthia Villar (51.7%) climbed to the top spot of the latest Pulse Asia survey, sharing the lead with fellow re-electionist Sen. Grace Poe (50.5%).
Pulse Asia noted that “practically all of the probable winners are current or former members of Congress and among them, 10 are running under the Hugpong ng Pagbabago coalition,” referring to the slate being managed by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, the president's daughter.