CEBU CITY – Two senatorial hopefuls who are mired at the bottom in surveys are confident they will eventually land in the magic 12 in the national elections on May 9.

These are Guillermo Eleazar and Greco Belgica who are both out of the magic 12 in the latest surveys on senatorial candidates from different parties.

Eleazar, a former chief of the Philippine National Police, said being out of the top 12 in the recent survey only made him more determined to work harder in the campaign.

“It challenges me to double my effort,” said Eleazar, who was in Cebu on Tuesday to meet his supporters.

Eleazar, who is running under the ticket of Senator Ping Lacson and Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto, admitted that his being neophyte in the political arena may have contributed to his dismal showing in surveys.

“First of all, I am newbie so I have to double my effort for our countrymen to know me. The election is still three months away. We just have to continue our efforts for us to make it to the Top 12,” added Eleazar.

Belgica, the former chief of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, likewise said he is not bothered by recent surveys.

“We have internal surveys. We’re doing fairly well in internal surveys including in local surveys,” said Belgica, who was also in Cebu.

Belgica said running under a party with no presidential candidate is affecting his ranking in surveys.

“I just don’t know why but a lot of it are social media-based surveys. Since we know that we don’t have a presidential candidate and the media is with the presidentiables,” said Belgica said.

On the other hand, Belgica averred that topping surveys does always translate into victory.

“It’s not new that those who eventually won are the ones who were not winning in surveys. In surveys, there are only 1,200 to 1,500 respondents. Not all are getting surveyed,” said Belgica, who is running under Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan, which is allied with the President’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.

Belgica pointed out he cannot be counted out just yet because “on the ground, we’re doing fairly because we are still the ruling party and the President is yet to endorse his candidates.”

Belgica said he is expecting his ranking to rise after President Rodrigo Duterte promised to join his Senate candidates in campaign sorties.

“The president will begin going with us. He will be talking on stage to campaign for us,” said Belgica.

Aside from him, Belgica said the President will be endorsing five other senatorial candidates. They are Robin Padilla, Rey Langit, John Castriciones, Astra Pimentel and Sal Panelo.

Belgica said the President’s presence in their upcoming campaign sorties will give them more media exposure.