Press Release
April 24, 2013

Transcript of Team PNoy Press Briefing with Team PNoy campaign manager and Senator Franklin M. Drilon

Does Team PNoy respond to the resolution of Comelec requiring survey firms to disclose commissioners or payors?

DRILON: I am in favour of that. We are in favour of full transparency so that the people can judge, can look at the survey taking consideration all factors. Having said that, I have full confidence in the surveys done by the SWS and Pulse Asia. These are helpful to us. As the campaign manager, I am not a subscriber to the SWS and Pulse Asia surveys, but I used the published surveys as a guide in our campaign strategies. I support the call for transparency. Let us look at what the message in the survey is rather than shooting the messenger. The survey firms are just messenger of what the people think when the fieldwork is done. They are simply messengers. Don't shoot the messenger; look at the message. The message is: the vast majority of the people support P-Noy and his team as shown by an overwhelming majority; 9-3 in all poll surveys for the past one month. I have confidence in the surveys, but I am in favour of transparency.

Is there a need to disclose the payors?

DRILON: For the sake of transparency, yes. In order to make the survey more credible, you should publish who the commissioners are for the sake of transparency. Wala ka naming itinatago diyan. Sa palagay ko, hindi mo pwedeng ayusin yung survey ng SWS at Pulse Asia. They have more to lose than allowing the surveys to be manipulated. The business of polling opinions is not only good during elections. The bulk of the industry and the business of polling are in the private surveys done for commercial products. Polling during election is not the only business, although it is the most prominent. They have too much to lose by tarnishing their reputation during election time.

Meron bang lumapit sa inyo na medyo mababa sa survey na ilapit sa Iglesia?

Walang lumapit sa akin.

Does Team PNoy still have plans to visit the North as a group to conduct sorties?

DRILON: Not at the moment. Although individually, TP members have been making sorties to the Ilocos region. The success of the sorties of our individual candidates is reflected in the surveys in Regions 1 and 2 which follows the national results of having 9 candidates in the top 12 and sometimes 8 in the top 12. Our surveys show that in Regions 1 and 2, we are consistently dominating polls there. We attribute this, of course, to the effort of our coalition partners in particular the Nationalista Party in Ilocos Norte where Gov. Imee Marcos has expressed her support for Team PNoy. We are confident that this coalition will hold until May 13. In fact, Bam Aquino, I think, has gone also to the Ilocos region. I have personally spoken to Chavit Singson and he promised me that a substantial majority of the Team PNoy will win in Ilocos Sur. In fact, he told me: "huwag na kayong pumunta sa Ilocos Sur, ako ng bahala doon." We are confident that with our coalition there with various political parties, we will prevail in regions 1 and 2.

Majority lang not the whole team?

DRILON: He assured me that he will carry a big, substantial majority of the Team PNoy.

Hindi kayo pumupunta sa North because of the Marcoses?

DRILON: No, in fact, Imee Marcos has expressed her support for Team PNoy being a part of the coalition. She being a NP stalwart. Nothing to do with her being a Marcos.

We observed na ang concentration is Mindanao, ganoon ba yun?

DRILON: Two things, we look at the surveys. Number 2, a number of our sorties would also be principally dictated by the local fights, the support that we provide to our local candidates.

In this case, yung Mindanao candidates ang mas kailangan ng presence?

DRILON: Not necessarily. We have been to Pangasinan. We have not been in areas where the local candidates have a very strong presence. As I said, there are two factors: number one, we look at how we stand in the polls insofar as the particular areas is concerned; number two, how our locals candidates are pairing in the course of the campaign?

Bakit may concentration sa Mindanao?

DRILON: For one, in the case, for example, of Misamis Oriental, talagang tinutulungan ng Pangulo ang aming mga kanditato doon.

DRILON: Mahina sila don?

The presence of the President will strengthen their positions there.

Plans to boost the candidacy of Magsaysay, Madrigal and Hontiveros

DRILON: We will keep on working hard. Of the three, Sen. Magsaysay is nearing the top 12.

Senator may mga nagaganap pong mga ambush, so ano po ginagawa ninyo to secure your candidates?

DRILON: We don't take extra ordinary measures. It its part of the risk we take. I personally don't take extra measures. When we go there we know there are certain incidents that may happen; maybe this untoward incidents may happen in the local level if you notice.

Q: Hindi na ba pupunta ang Team PNoy as a team in Regions 1 and 2 whole team or solo-solo nalang?

DRILON: We are still reviewing our schedule; our schedule is very fluid.

Q: Kaya lang malaki ang factor ng assurance ni Mr. Singson?

DRILON: Ang sabi nya sakin personally wag na kayo pumunta doon ako na ang bahala. That he will take care of Team PNoy in Ilocos Sur.

Q: Regarding the 2012 poverty incidence, critics say PNoy is not successful in eradicating poverty

DRILON: First, you forget that our population increased from 2006-2013 and yet, the poverty incidents has dipped a bit. That only means that we have been successful in alleviating the poverty. If you look at it from a point of view of the population having increased compared to 6-7 years ago. Second, reduction of poverty takes time. But because of the reforms done by this administration, it has paved the way for a substantive poverty reduction through socio-economic reforms like for example the 4Ps program, the increase in enrolment of the poor in the PhilHealth program.

We are allocating this year and next year, P25 billion for PhilHealth. We are allocating this year over P40B for 3.8 million Filipinos under the National Housing Poverty Reduction Program which has never happened in the past. That is precisely the point in this campaign. This is a referendum of the performance of this administration. The past 2 1.2 years, the Aquino administration has shown its capacity to govern properly.

We will continue this report and continue to address the poverty in this country and we're confident that under the leadership of the president, we will succeed. But you don't leak the poverty at the levels that this administration inherited in 2 and a half years time. But we submit and we're willing to face our detractors (UNA) on the matter of the gains of this administration both in terms of ethical leadership and reforms and poverty allegation.

Q: As Finance committee chair, would this report not make you consider things certain things in the next budget?

DRILON: We will continue to address the social economic program, we will increase the budget of the DSWD as far as the for peace program is concerned. We have already provided the framework for universal health care in terms of the resources available under the sin tax bill that we passed. The school building program will be monitored closely, through the PPP program where the administration is supposed to finish 66,000 classrooms this year in order to address the classroom shortage.

Q: Sa surveys, yung pumapasok lang yung mga anak ng UNA leaders, do you think UNa is only campaigning for these three since mahirap yung campaign with Team PNoy?

DRILON: This is natural for these three kings to campaign for the children. That's human nature. And I don't blame them for that.

Q: Do you thinks their surnames, parang yung number one factor bakit sila nasa top 12?

DRILON: That's purely speculative. Certainly the support of their parents is a big factor. The support of VP Binay on Nancy is a big factor. The support of former Pres. Estrada on JV Ejercito is a big factor. The support of Juan Ponce Enrile on Jackie is a factor to consider.

On UNA's claim of massive cheating in Mindanao because of power shortages there

DRILON: To us, this claim of UNA of massive cheating in Mindanao is a mind conditioning in anticipation of a landscape defeat in Mindanao. Hindi ba sinasabi nga nila eh landslide victory daw, so this will be a landscape defeat for them. This is mind conditioning in anticipation of a landscape defeat that UNA is facing. But having said that, we call on the people to be vigilant against cheating whether it comes from the opposition and the administration candidates or from any quarter from that matter. Because in our ticket is the face of electoral reform - Sen. Pimentel - and electoral reform is a major pillar of this administration program. So there is absolutely no basis for this claim of UNA.

Q: Face saving measures?

DRILON: Mind conditioning.

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