Marcos feels victory — if elections are clean

Vice presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday said he “may just win in the elections” if the May 9 balloting would be clean and fair.

At the sidelines of his campaign sortie in Malolos, Bulacan, Marcos said with 40 days left in the campaign period, the chances of his victory remain strong as shown by recent pre-election surveys and the expression of support of several local leaders, including influential political families.

“Sa aking nakikita at nababalitaan sa iba’t-ibang lugar ay maganda naman ang takbo ng ating kampanya at maganda naman ang pagtanggap sa akin ng ating mga kababayan – very warm, masigla at napakainit ang pagtanggap sa akin,” Marcos told reporters

“Kaya kung malinis ang halalan, maganda na ang chances natin,” he added.

Marcos, son and namesake of the late president, has been sharing the top spot in pre-election surveys with fellow senator, Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey released Tuesday last week, Marcos and Escudero remain statistically tied for No. 1 in the six-way vice presidential race.

This time, however, Marcos edged Escudero by one percentage point as he got 25 percentage points as compared to the latter’s 24.

In previous surveys, Escudero used to be ahead of Marcos by two to three percentage points.

Marcos claimed that aside from the national surveys, he has also been topping the internal surveys conducted by some candidates.

“Meron naman tayong mga kaibigan na tumatakbo din at pinakikita nila ang kanilang internal survey [sa akin]. Pinakikita dun na mas gumaganda pa ang chances natin na manalo,” Marcos said.

Local endorsements

Marcos had earlier secured the endorsements of several political families such as the Ynares family in Rizal, the Eusebio family in Pasig, the Ortega family in La Union as well as other dominant political figures in north Luzon, namely, former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson, incumbent Pangasinan governor Amado Espino Jr. and gubernatorial aspirant Mark Cojuangco.

Marcos has also secured the endorsements of Cavite governor Jonvic Remulla and vice governor Jolo Revilla as well as San Juan City mayor Guia Gomez and former president and incumbent Manila mayor Joseph Estrada.

Marcos said that with the strong chances of winning, his team is now focused on ensuring that all the votes for him on the day of the elections will be counted.

“Ngayon ay pinapagtibay namin ang pag-oorganisa upang bantayan ang boto natin,” Marcos said. — APG, GMA News