Otso Diretso spokesperson admits they expect only Bam, Mar to win

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) — The spokesperson for the opposition senatorial slate Otso Diretso admitted that they have long expected that only Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV and former Interior Secretary Manuel "Mar" Roxas II will win in the midterm polls next week.

“From the start, alam naman namin na ganun ang mangyayari [we knew that would happen.] That’s why we were relying very heavily on volunteers and citizens’ participation,” Otso Diretso spokesperson Barry Gutierrez told CNN Philippines’ The Source on Tuesday.

Ever since private independent pollsters started doing surveys on senatorial candidates for the May 13 elections, only Aquino and Roxas have managed to break through the list of possible winners.

But the two have also dropped from the so-called winner’s circle several times.

The latest poll released by Pulse Asia Research showed only Aquino statistically tied with four other bets in the 10-14 rank, while Roxas figured in the 14-17 tier.

Other Otso Diretso bets are eating dust way behind the administration-aligned and backed candidates of the two slates identified with President Rodrigo Duterte.

“The reality is, no matter how optimistic we may be and no matter how much we take place a premium on volunteerism and citizen’s participation and volunteerism, that can only take you so far, particularly when you talk about surveys, where name recall is really the key thing,” Gutierrez said.

He said the key difference between the opposition candidates and the administration candidates is resources. The opposition has less, while the administration has “too much,” he said.

However, mock polls in various universities tell a different story. Otso Diretso bets have topped them, while hardly a single administration-backed candidate has made it to those surveys.

“It tells me that there’s a bright future for this country. ‘Yung mga batang Pilipino na nagaaral eh maganda ‘yung tingin sa [Young Filipinos who are studying have a good impression of] Otso Diretso,” Gutierrez said.

He said that despite them lagging behind in national surveys, they are still hoping for a surprise win less than a week before the polls.

“Tanggap namin na [We accept that] the surveys are telling us that. Although historically there have been surprises. There have been people who have come from behind sa surveys,” he said.

Former Presidential spokesperson and opposition group Tindig Pilipinas convenor Edwin Lacierda has also admitted to CNN Philippines that the chances of the Otso Diretso candidates are slim, as seen in recent surveys.