At least nine or 10 senatorial candidates of the administration will win in next year’s midterm elections, a political analyst predicted Friday.

Ronald Llamas said the senatorial bets endorsed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. are “very strong,” noting that midterm elections are a “referendum or plebiscite for the government.”

“Incumbents are usually strong in midterm elections. They have the support of local government units, institutions, the police, military, etc. So they are very powerful. They need to win,” Llamas, a political affairs adviser to the Noynoy Aquino administration, said during The Agenda weekly forum at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City.

He said the administration will use all its resources to make sure most of its senatorial candidates will win.

“I think it will be swept by the government because of their strength and power. About nine to 10 candidates from the administration will make it, leaving only two (seats) up for grabs,” Llamas said.

“But let us not only look at absolute numbers. The Dutertes are still ranking highly. What we should watch out for is the movement of numbers. That is key,” he added.