WHILE survey results released recently show he has a good chance of becoming the country’s next president, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III still needs to work hard to sustain his popularity and ensure his victory.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday gave this advice to his colleague who has been consistently topping the surveys.

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But Enrile said that Aquino is in for a lot of hard work, especially that his ratings went down from 60 percent shortly after the burial of his mother, former president Corazon Aquino, in August to 44 percent at present.

This, aside from the fact that there is no guarantee that survey results released will follow the same trend on election day in May 2010.

“Based on my long experience in politics, surveys are good as gauge of possible election victory. But in the end, the political leaders in every community, including cities, and the ward leaders in Cebu, Manila and other parts of the country are the ones who are dictating their followers of whom to support. We don’t even know if the people who favored Noynoy in the survey will vote for him on the election day,” Enrile said.

The Senate president was in town yesterday to grace the 1st Asian Cooperative Teamshop at the Cebu International Convention Center.

Enrile predicted that while administration bet Gilbert Teodoro’s presidential bid will snowball during the campaign period because of the machineries of the administration mayors, governors and congressmen who are supporting him, Noynoy’s candidacy may crumble if he fails to answer the issues against him.

Enrile also said that while he will seek reelection under the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) of Joseph Estrada, he cannot ignore Teodoro because he is the only candidate who can speak fluent Ilocano.

“We Ilocanos are quite clannish. We want to vote for a guy who can speak our language. So, it is very likely that he will get a big chunk of the votes of the Ilocandia,” Enrile said.

“That’s apart from the fact that he (Teodoro) speaks Ilonggo and a little Cebuano.”

He also said that based on his personal track record, Teodoro is more prepared to become president because he is knowledgeable on foreign affairs and defense and has the political will to face the country’s pressing problem.

Enrile’s colleague, Sen. Pia Cayetano, for her part, said that while she thinks that Aquino is a “great guy,” she will seek reelection under the Nacionalista Party (NP), citing the “leadership skill” of party leader, Sen. Manuel Villar, which other aspirants don’t have.

“I have always seen a lot of faith in Villar’s leadership to bring out our country from the economic crisis we have been through,” Cayetano told a press conference. She was in the same event that Enrile attended.

And like Enrile, Cayetano believes that survey results will soon favor Villar when campaigning officially begins.

Cayetano also defended Sen. Loren Legarda as Villar’s choice for vice president, saying that Legarda was merely doing her job as senator when she called for an investigation on the C-5 Road controversy that involved Villar.