MANILA, Philippines--You ain't seen nothin? yet.

To help maintain the large lead of Sen. Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III in the polls, his campaign is going on the offensive with an aggressive ?air war? campaign of ads on TV, radio and print starting January, the Aquino camp said on Wednesday.

Aquino campaign manager Butch Abad and spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the tri-media campaign would help cement and enlarge what they described as a ?solid base? of Aquino supporters, that they pegged at 45 percent of the electorate as shown by the Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations surveys.

Although they have yet to conduct an aggressive ad campaign, they noted that Aquino?s lead in the polls remained strong at 45 to 46 percent of survey respondents.

Core vote

?We are confident that this is already his core vote and there is a strong potential for moving up next year when we take a more aggressive position in our ads and campaign sorties,? Abad said in an interview.

?We will wage an air war presenting our candidates and we expect those numbers to increase further,? Lacierda said.

They added that the ?Hindi Ka Nag-iisa? TV commercial did not come from the campaign, rather it was a ?love offering? from show biz talk show hosts Boy Abunda and Kris Aquino, who is also the senator?s sister.

Both Abad and Lacierda said Aquino?s poll numbers remained strong because his campaign message against corruption was resonating with voters.

Abad said that before the death of the senator?s mother?former President Corazon Aquino?in August, voters told pollsters they were looking for a new president who was ?pro-poor, approachable and capable? of running the country.

?They had a pragmatic thinking given the worsening economic situation ? anti-corruption was down in the list. But [after Ms Aquino?s death], ?integrity, transparency and anti-corruption? surged to the forefront of what voters wanted,? he said. ?This was a big change. From having a pragmatic view, they had a more aspiring viewpoint.?

Glaring example

Because of this, Abad said the Aquino-Roxas campaign would continue to hammer its message that corruption has become so ingrained under the Arroyo administration, it has diverted government resources intended for basic services like health, education, and nutrition.

?It helps that this government continues to fall [on this issue] as shown by the glaring example of the Ampatuans,? he said. ?Maguindanao is the third poorest province but here you see unimaginable corruption and gross abuse of power that led, not just to the non-delivery of basic services, but also to the loss of life.?

Abad declined to give details about Aquino?s new ads although he said they would follow the Aquino-Roxas campaign plan which is to be ?non-conventional? and ?non-trapo (not traditional politics).?

?It has to be different,? he said.