Noynoy's latest survey lead no cause for celebration, LP Senate bet says

A senatorial candidate of Liberal Party (LP) on Monday said the 12-point lead of their presidential bet Senator Benigno Simeon Aquino III over closest rival Nacionalista Party (NP) standard bearer Sen Manuel Villar Jr. is no cause for celebration. Surveys are only good on the day it was taken because its purpose is to guide the campaign strategists and not to predict the winner, said Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon, ranked in polls as among the top 15 senatorial bets. Only twelve Senate seats are up for grabs in May. “Even if Noynoy is already leading by a two-digit margin, that is still not a cause para mag-celebrate. Let’s celebrate pag naproclaim na. When the last vote is cast and we find out that we are the winner. That’s the time we celebrate," he told reporters after different youth groups endorsed his candidacy with eight other senatoriables. Although the NP was challenged by recent survey results, there still is enough time for its candidates to ‘get back on track’, NP spokesperson and Senate bet Adel Tamano said. Candidates only have two weeks to wrap up their campaign before the voters troop to the polls on May 10. “Nung kinuha yan it is about three weeks before the end of the elections, right now two weeks na lang. Sabi nga nila sa pulitika, ang isang linggo ay isang lifetime so we are going to get back on track, ang importante ay pagdating sa May 10, 2010, paglabas ng results panalo kami," he told GMANews.TV. (The survey was taken three weeks before the end of the elections. We just have two weeks right now. As they say in politics, one week is a lifetime. What is important is that on May 10, 2010, when results come out, we will win.) “It’s not over until it’s over. We are all positive that this can still be turned," NP senatorial bet Gwen Pimentel said in a separate interview. Tamano said they were able to cut Aquino’s 50-point lead last year. He remains optimistic that the party will be able to do it again. Asked if the negative stories and issues contributed to the Villar drop in the surveys, Tamano said the party will not focus on that. “We are going to focus on the fact that we have the candidate who has the best qualifications, has track record because that is the real issue, not the negative stories," he said. He also expressed optimism that the NP will be able to get the votes of those who are still undecided now. “Many will decide pagkaupo nila sa presinto. People will really weigh their choices, pagdating ng May 10 maraming magugulat sa magiging resulta hindi lang sa presidente, vice president, kundi sa senatorial candidates," Tamano said. (On May 10, many people will be surprised at the election results.) Like Biazon, Tamano and Pimentel's candidacies were endorsed by different youth groups led by Kabataan Partylist. The organization also endorsed the candidacies of Villar and Senator Loren Legarda, for president and vice president, respectively. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV