Kris Aquino opts to appear at Escudero sorties

Kris Aquino. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Popular TV host Kris Aquino will appear for the first time in the senatorial sorties to campaign for reelectionist Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero this week.

Kris, President Benigno Aquino III’s youngest sister, will join Escudero’s campaign in General Santos City and Davao City on Thursday and in Cebu City and Tacloban City on Friday.

Kris’ presence was expected “to add color to Escudero’s regional tour in the final leg of the campaign period prior to the May 13 polls,” a statement from the senator’s office said on Tuesday.

The announcement of Kris’ appearance in the sorties coincided with the release of the latest Pulse Asia survey, which showed Escudero in a statistically tie for the first place.

Despite this, Escudero maintained that the elections on May 13 would still be the “ultimate gauge of the people’s will, with the survey results serving as a guide on the direction of his campaign strategy.”

“Let us wait for the final election tally, until then survey results merely provide previews of the people’s will,” he said.

For his campaign team, the senator said, the philosophy was never to let their guard down and “to run scared” with the survey results guiding our steps along the way.

“We treat all surveys as credible regardless if these show a rise or fall in my rating,” Escudero said.

“It is always my stand that being on the top of the survey is not a reason to be complacent and those in the bottom half to lose heart. In the end, being elected on top or at the bottom will have the same responsibility in a six-year term at the Senate,” he added.

Escudero said that hard work had compensated for his lack of resources, noting that he had the least in terms of advertisement airtime among the senatorial candidates.

He said he had paid for 10 minutes of ad airtime thus far compared to 60 to 70 minutes used up by other candidates.