Senator Christopher “Bong” Go's entrance as the administration’s presidential bet will be a “game-changer” in the country’s election landscape, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said.

Trillanes, who is running for senator under Vice President Leni Robredo’s ticket, said that Go’s presence in the race will take out around 10 percent of presidential aspirant and former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s votes.

Marcos topped the latest presidential preference survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) wherein he garnered a 47 percent rating as opposed to second-placer Robredo’s 18 percent.

READ: Marcos, Sotto top presidential, vice presidential SWS survey

“Now we are sensing some changes in the landscape with the entry of Bong Go in the presidential derby because that is a game-changer in the sense that Bong Go would now be the administration candidate, and along with that would come the local machinery, which Marcos would be deprived of and that would spell at least around 10 percent of the electoral votes, minus for Mr. Marcos,” Trillanes said on ANC’s After the Fact Tuesday night, Nov. 16.

In turn, this non-alliance between the current administration and Marcos, whom President Duterte openly said that he could neither support nor endorse, will benefit opposition leader Robredo.

“As I mentioned, because Bong Go now is going against Bongbong Marcos so there are certain regions that are favorable to the Dutertes, which we expect to endorse or Duterte the father is expected to endorse and campaign for Bong Go and therefore his strong areas would be transferrable to Mr. Bong Go. And that would take away from the votes of Mr. Marcos,” Trillanes said.

He added that local candidates will “gravitate” toward Go, the President’s long-time aide and friend who won as senator in 2019, “because they expect that the money would be coming from there.”

READ: Duterte tells Go to 'run for president'; says he will reveal why he won't support Marcos, Pacquiao

The former senator and staunch critic of Duterte admitted that Marcos is “the man to beat in 2022".

Robredo’s camp has identified Marcos as such as early as August, he added.

Asked if their camp was surprised that presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio slid down to vice president instead of running for president as her father would have liked, Trillanes said she was also aware that Marcos’s ratings are simply stronger.

“Mr. Duterte's approval rating has plummeted to its lowest since he assumed office. So they're very much aware where they are now as far as political standing is concerned,” he stressed.

Despite the reported rift between the father and daughter, Duterte’s allies tried to woo Duterte-Carpio to run under the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

She instead took her oath as a member of Lakas-CMD (Christian Muslim Democrats), eventually agreeing to team up with Marcos, who is running under Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PNF).