Estrada confident of 'gaining momentum' once campaign period begins

Former president Joseph “Erap" Estrada may be lagging in recent surveys, but this has not dampened his spirits, expressing confidence that he would gain momentum once the campaign period begins. “The voters are not yet decided on whom to vote, they are still weighing everything," Estrada told reporters after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) heard the disqualification cases filed against him. According to the last Pulse Asia survey, Senator Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III is still the leading presidential bet with 45 percent. Next is Senator Manuel Villar with 23 percent and Estrada with 19 percent. But Estrada said he is actually happy, citing improvement of his ratings. With a previous 11 percent rating, Estrada said he is now at 19 percent – which according to Pulse Asia is “statistically tied" with Villar’s 23 percent because of the survey’s margin of error. He added that he might not get the same number of votes that won him the presidency in 1998, but said that he knows he still has a good chance of winning. “Well it might be lesser but it’s a question of winning even by a small margin," he said. The survey taken two months before the elections itself would be the more crucial one. “I am optimistic come the next survey," he said. Estrada said he can assure voters that if he wins, he would give the same service he did when he was the president. “They have seen my performance for two and a half years and when I was incarcerated and the Sandiganbayan was not able to prove that I stole a single cent from the government," he said. Estrada has three pending disqualification cases with the Comelec. The poll body has asked his camp to file a formal opposition to the pleas through a memorandum to be submitted on Dec. 28. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan/RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV