“IT’S a landslide win.”

This was how House Majority Leader and Lakas-CMD president Martin Romualdez predicted the victory of vice presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

Romualdez expressed confidence that Mayor Sara Duterte can sustain and even widen her runaway lead over her rivals leading to her landslide win in the upcoming elections.

He added she and presidential hopeful former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), will further break away from their respective rivals who have been consistently lagging behind as the campaign heats up.

The veteran politician made the statement following the latest surveys which show that both Marcos and Mayor Sara are leading the race in presidential and vice presidential bids respectively.

“I am convinced that Mayor Duterte will not only sustain her lead over her rivals, but will gain further, now that we are in the official campaign season where the vice presidential candidate could bring her and the UniTeam’s platforms directly to the people and expound on them,” he said.

“Add the fact that she’s already going around the country for her campaign, sealing off support from folks and politicians alike,” Romualdez added.

Over the weekend the Laylo Research and Pulse Asia issued the results of their surveys conducted last month.

In Laylo Research, Mayor Sara was the vice president of choice by 60 percent of the respondents compared to the 19 percent of her closest rival, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.

In Pulse Asia survey she the 50 percent of the respondents with 29 percent picking Sotto.

The Lakas-CMD president noted that the Laylo mega poll, which was participated in by 15,450 voters was carried out from January 10 up to 26 — when the official campaign period had not yet started and Mayor Duterte had not campaigned around the country then.

The Laylo report showed Mayor Duterte not only led in demographics, but even in age, gender and economic classes of voters.

At the start of the campaign, Duterte barnstormed key areas in the Visayas and Mindanao through her “Mahalin Natin ang Pilipinas Ride” where she notched the support and backings of political leaders, various groups and grassroots organizations.

Duterte has also initially campaigned in Central Luzon, particularly in Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya, and in the National Capital Region (NCR) where she got the endorsements of political leaders and support of various groups and even ordinary folks.

“We will not only sustain the lead, but we will veer away,” said Romualdez of Mayor Duterte’s chances in the elections, as he noted the sustained endorsements and pledges of support even by Church-based groups and congregations, including El Shaddai.

El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde recently endorsed Duterte and Marcos where he also echoed UniTeam’s call for unity. “It’s time for us Filipinos to be united.”

SARA THANKS FILIPINOS FOR SUPPORT

Mayor Sara Duterte expressed gratitude to the Filipinos who keep on trusting her and supporting her bid for the vice presidency.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey, Mayor Sara remained a frontrunner for the vice presidential spot as she got 50 percent votes from the respondents.

“Maraming salamat sa lahat ng ating mga kababayan sa inyong patuloy na pagtitiwala. Maliwanag sa survey na ang nais ng ating kapwa Pilipino ay ang pamumunong matatag, maagap, at higit sa lahat, tapat sa layunin ng pagkakaisa sa ating bansa,” Mayor Sara said.

Mayor Sara is the vice presidential bet of the Lakas-CMD and Hugpong ng Pagbabago, which she is both a chairman.

Her running mate presidential aspirant former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is also leading the Pulse Asia survey which was conducted from January 19 to 24 with 2,400 respondents.

According to Mayor Sara, if given a chance to be a vice president she intends to pursue some good projects and programs of the Duterte administration.

She said the latest survey shows that Filipinos want a strong leadership and leaders who push for unity in the country.

“Ito ang diwa ng Uniteam at kami ni Apo Bongbong Marcos ay patuloy na magsisikap hanggang maabot natin ang ating pangarap ng mapayapa at masaganang buhay sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino,” she added.

Duterte was followed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III (29 percent), Senator Francis Pangilinan (11 percent), Doctor Willie Ong (5 percent), and House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza (1 percent).

Some 3 percent of the respondents were unsure of their top choice or refused to name their top candidate.

In terms of location, Duterte was the top choice in the National Capital Region (NCR) with 40 percent; Balance Luzon with 36 percent; Visayas with 47 percent and Mindanao with 83 percent.

Meanwhile, the same survey shows that Sotto was the top second choice of the respondents with 35 percent.