(UPDATE) DUMAGUETE CITY — Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial candidates on Thursday expressed confidence that they would get the overwhelming support of Negros Oriental in the May midterm polls.

The administration's ticket continued its campaign here at the Mariano Perdices Coliseum in a bid to replicate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s landslide victory in the second most populous province in Central Visayas.

In a press conference, former Senate president Tito Sotto said they were banking on their track records to gain public support.

"If you look at the line up, the 12 candidates of Alyansa, we are confident that the people of Negros Oriental will see the experience, and the help that we've given the country," Sotto told reporters.

To gain the voters' support, Sotto said they would remind the people "of what we have done for them and what we are able to do again, more of what we have done already."

Former Interior secretary Benhur Abalos echoed Sotto's statement, saying "our performance will speak for itself."

He cited the Marcos government's efforts to ensure peace and security in Negros Oriental.

"You compare peace and order then to now, it's very different. The economy is growing, the people are very happy. And that is way more important than anything else. That will speak for the record of the president and that will speak for the platforms of Alyansa," Abalos said.

ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Erwin Tulfo said he was confident that they would secure the province's votes.

"We have also enacted laws, which is why we are very confident that the president will not be embarrassed here. Negros people will not regret if they support and vote for the Alyansa," Tulfo said.

Former senator Manny Pacquiao said that their ticket had the advantage in terms of understanding the needs of the people and getting their support.

"So, the Alyansa program is for the welfare of the Filipino people. It will focus on providing jobs and livelihoods, businesses for small families. So that is what we are promoting because poverty is one of the main problems of our country," he added.

Makati City Mayor Abby Binay said Marcos' landslide win in the province reflected the Filipino voters' trust and confidence that Alyansa hopes to secure in this year's elections.

"I guess the fact that the president won here in 2022 is an added bonus," Binay said.

"But if you notice the speech of the president consistently says that some of us are lawyers, some of us are congressmen, some of us have previous experience in government, so, we are chosen based on our track record, based on our qualities, our capabilities, what kind of service we can give," she added.

Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco, Alyansa's campaign manager, said the administration's ticket was building on the strong foundation that Marcos laid during the 2022 national elections.

Tiangco said Negros Oriental was a crucial battleground for the coalition with the province's 976,185 registered voters, and a historically high turnout rate of 85.22 percent in the 2022 elections.

Aligning with the province's economic backbone was the coalition's platform in agriculture and tourism — sectors that saw significant growth in Negros Oriental in recent years, Tiangco said.

"Negros Oriental stands to benefit from the coalition's commitment to modernize agriculture, improve farmers' access to credit and strengthen government's fight against agricultural smuggling, as vast track of its lands are planted to sugarcane, sweetcorn, coconut and rice," he added.

Tiangco also said that the coalition's tourism programs could be seen to dovetail with initiatives in the province, which include the Department of Tourism's P450 million tourism road development allocation.

Tourist arrivals in the province saw an uptick in 2024, rising to 700,000 from 250,000 in 2023.

"The coalition's emphasis on infrastructure development through the 'Build Better More' program of the Marcos administration and support for MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) in tourism-related businesses can boost this trajectory," Tiangco said.