Senatorial candidate Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday, March 23, said he expects a turnaround in the presidential survey results by April that will put Vice President Leni Robredo in the lead.
Trillanes, who was campaigning in Negros Occidental, met with Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson at the Capitol in Bacolod City to thank him for his support for the Team Leni campaign.
The former senator, who is part of Robredo’s senate slate, said their internal surveys show that her numbers “are increasing, it has an upward trajectory.”
In the places Robredo visited, her numbers went up and the numbers of her opponent, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., went down in the first month of the official campaign period, Trillanes said.
“Ultimately the increase will be exponential and we expect by the middle of April she would have tied or overtaken Mr. Marcos,” he said.
The survey results showing Marcos leading mirrors the pattern during the 2016 presidential elections, he said.
Senator Grace Poe was leading in the presidential race and President Rodrigo Duterte was number four but towards the end of March he was in first place, Trillanes said.
“We are looking at April before we see a turnaround” in the survey numbers, he said.
Trillanes said they do not see the PDP Laban Cusi wing’s endorsement of Marcos as an added boost to his camp.
“It is only Secretary (Alfonso) Cusi who endorsed Bongbong Marcos and not Duterte himself,” he said.
On senatorial candidate Salvador Panelo’s statement that be believes Duterte will eventually endorse Marcos, Trillanes said “that is an assumption of Mr. Panelo and everybody knows that he assumes too much, we just have to wait for the actual announcement if any.”
The majority of the Philippine Military Academy graduates are not supporting Marcos, Trillanes also insisted.
Trillanes said if he is reelected to the Senate he can make a difference in improving the lives of Filipinos and in spearheading reforms in governance.
“I have a track record to prove that in the two terms that I was able to serve in the Senate,” he said, adding that he did not abuse his authority and was not involved in any form of corruption.
Trillanes said if he is elected to the Senate he will support the restoration of the defunct Negros Island Region.
“I will support it because I believe it’s going to be advantageous for the people of Negros to have their own regional center,” he said.
This will provide the public with better access to government services, he said.*