The spokesman of Vice President Leni Robredo believes that the battle for the presidency in 2022 is going to be an “uphill battle,” but it will be “winnable” for the opposition nonetheless.

Going up against a popular president like President Duterte is not going to be easy and this is evident in the surveys that show his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, is leading, lawyer Barry Gutierrez said Friday night on One News’ The Chief.

“A lot of things will happen and obviously effort and strategy will play a big role in the next few months. We acknowledge it’s going to be an uphill battle but definitely, it’s a winnable battle as far as we are concerned,” he said.

Robredo’s spokesman noted the “very well-oiled, very extensive social media machinery” of the administration and how different the election campaign will look like given the fact that the country might not achieve herd immunity when the campaign period starts next year.

READ: Sara Duterte, Isko Moreno lead possible 2022 presidential, vice presidential bets – Pulse Asia

Gutierrez said the campaign might “largely be on social media,” which will be “an advantage” to the administration’s bets because of the social media machinery they have put in place the past five years.

But he noted that “every election is a roll of a dice so there is always the possibility that things will change.”

Gutierrez cited that voter preferences expressed in surveys conducted a year before the actual elections were never the same as the actual poll results.

“People who were leading surveys at this point in time, you know June of the previous year, none of them ended up winning the presidency ultimately. So, it is too early to say,” he said.

A year before former President Benigno Aquino III won the presidency, it was former Senator Manuel Villar who was leading the race. But even discounting the death of former President Corazon Aquino that catapulted her son to the presidency, Villar did not even place second to Aquino.

It was deposed former President Joseph Estrada who emerged second place to Aquino in the 2010 polls.

Up to now, Robredo hasn’t made a decision yet on her political plans next year, but she has repeatedly said she is still open to run as president in 2022 amid speculations that she is gunning for the gubernatorial post in her home province of Camarines Sur.

READ: Robredo declares: 'I’m still open to running for president'

“In the midst of many speculations, I will repeat something I have said a lot of times: I have not made the decision to run as governor. I remain open to be a candidate for the presidency,” she said in Filipino in a Facebook post Friday, June 4.