Trailing in the surveys a month to go before the time of reckoning on May 10, former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada could only hope that the warm reception from the masses he has been getting during sorties will translate into votes and give him a return trip to Malacañang.

The warm reception in his sorties makes him confident he will pull off a surprise win come election day. “You will have the surprise of your life,” Estrada said as he shrugged off survey results showing him in third place in the presidential race.

In Zamboanga City, Wednesday, a Muslim resident got up the stage during the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) grand rally at the Plaza Pershing when entertainer Marissa Sanchez called for a male who could dance with her on stage. The Muslim resident stringently refused to joke around with the comedienne as he said he only wanted to shake Estrada’s hand.

The Muslim man proudly endorsed Estrada to a crowd of about 5,000 people during the rally who he said should be elected anew “to end the country’s poverty problem.” The unsolicited endorsement was made despite the call of some groups of his fellow Muslims not to vote for Estrada whom they called an enemy of Islam because of his policy of “all-out war” against Islamic separatist rebels during his short-lived term as president.

Estrada’s party was warmly welcomed in the city, with supporters on some buildings even showering confetti when the PMP motorcade passed by.

Big crowds are usual during Estrada’s sorties even if with the absence of big celebrities to attract throngs of people. This makes his party mates wonder why Estrada is just a poor third in the pre-election surveys, behind Liberal Party’s Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Nacionalista Party’s Senator Manny Villar.

“You’ve been with us during the sorties and you’ve seen how our motorcades are being mobbed. The support is overwhelming,” Estrada’s running mate Mayor Jejomar Binay told reporters covering Estrada’s campaign in an interview.

Estrada himself was proud of the warm reception he has been receiving. “Did you see the big crowd during the motorcade? They even showered us with confetti,” he bragged to reporters during a break of their campaign in Zamboanga City Wednesday