Bolstered by the swelling ground support for Vice President Leni Robredo’s candidacy for the 2022 presidential polls, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday, October 26, said he has high hopes for the campaign as she might already be number two in surveys.

He would have wished Robredo could have announced her candidacy sooner so her allies and supporters could’ve prepared better and faster, too. However, what’s important for the former senator is that after months of mulling her decision, “she is ready to go full steam ahead.”

“Nakita ko naman nung last na nagpunta ako dun sa campaign headquarters, ano na, mabilis. Marami ng pulitikong naglaline-up para sumama sa campaign (When I last went to the campaign headquarters, it’s already fast. A lot of politicians are lining up to join the campaign). This is a good sign. Marami ring (There are also a lot of) volunteer groups. So, I feel good about the campaign,” Trillanes said in an interview on Press One PH.

The focus of the campaign now is to bring in more people and supporters because they are still at a “disadvantage.”

“Baka siguro si VP Leni nasa number 2 na siya (Maybe VP Leni is already number 2). Her numbers are still rising. Pero kailangan muna nating malagpasan ‘yung numero noong number 1. Kasi kung hindi natin malalagpasan kahit hindi na tayo dayain, di ba? Talo na eh (But we need to surpass the numbers of the number 1 because if we don’t surpass that, even if they don’t cheat us, right? We lose),” he said.

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Robredo’s numbers have statistically been lagging behind with only eight percent in the latest presidential preference survey by Pulse Asia. Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, despite not filing her Certificate of Candidacy (COC), enjoys the top spot with 20 percent, followed by former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. with 15 percent.

“Iyon ‘yung focus, kailangan magparami muna. ‘Yung masyadong malakas na tipong kung dadayain, masyadong obvious (That is the focus, we need to increase in numbers. It should be so strong that if they cheat, it will be too obvious),” Trillanes said.

The former senator doesn’t believe that it will take a long time for Robredo to catch up with other presidential aspirants who decided early on that they want to join the race.

The social media age, he noted, is an equalizer.

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“Ngayon, kapag nagviral ka (Today, when you go viral), in a snap, makakahabol ka agad (you can catch up) unlike before talagang (it’s really) physical campaigning ‘yung (the) main strategy pero ngayon, may (but now, there is) digital na ‘yung (the) approaches, mas mabilis (it’s faster),” Trillanes explained.

He said that his group, Magdalo Party, makes it a point to define their priorities every election.

The mission this 2022 polls, Trillanes said, is to first elect Robredo, second for the Magdalo Party-list to win, and third is his successful comeback to the Senate where he hopes to lead the Senate blue ribbon committee.