THE election campaign has a long way to go and there should be no celebrations yet, presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign strategist said Monday following three different survey results that had the Davao City mayor going past erstwhile leader Grace Poe.
“While we are elated with the results of the recent surveys of SWS, Pulse Asia and Manila Standard, we still believe the final arbiter of who will be rightfully elected president is the people,” Leoncio Evasco Jr. said.
“That will be known on May 9, the day of the elections.”
The former rebel priest and outgoing mayor of Maribojoc town in Bohol said Duterte’s lead was still very tenuous and there was much work to do.
“It is not over until it is over,” Evasco said.
Reps. Karlo Nograles and Silvestre Bello III, Duterte’s supporters, on Monday welcomed the latest Social Weather Stations survey where the mayor topped the race for the presidency.
Nograles expressed hope that the survey result would be reflective of the actual result of the May 9 general elections.
“We are humbled by the results of the latest survey showing Mayor Duterte for President on top of all aspirants,” Nograles said.
He said the survey result magnified the Filipinos’ quest for the true leader who had the strong political will to end criminality and poverty.
Duterte was in Maguindanao and South Cotabato over the weekend when news of his survey lead came out.
A day earlier, he had to snake his way into a six-hour traffic jam as people lined up for his motorcade leading to Parañaque in Metro Manila, where he spoke before a largely upper- and middle-class crowd.
Duterte will be back in Metro Manila today to resume his campaign in Luzon, where he hopes to build on his momentum.
He has repeatedly said he does not mind being at the bottom, middle or on top of the surveys. What would count was the result of the election itself.
It was the first time that Duterte had taken the lead in all three major poll surveys since the election campaign started on Feb. 9.
With less than 30 days to go before the elections, Evasco said, they hoped to expand Duterte’s lead and consolidate his gains.
“We urge our followers and supporters to continue to work harder and make sure the support and the results of the surveys are translated into votes,” he said.