MANILA- Reelectionist Senator Bam Aquino said on Tuesday that there will be no competition between him and his cousin, actress Kris Aquino, in the 2019 senatorial elections.

Mr. Aquino's ranking dropped in the September 2018 Pulse Asia survey for the senatorial elections after the actress was included on the list.

"Definitely, wala (competition with Kris). Matagal na, so nagtataka pa rin kami sa Pulse bakit nila sinama even though it was made clear a few statements ago," he told ANC's "Beyond Politics."

(Definitely, there is no competition. It's been so long so we're also puzzled why Pulse included Kris in the survey.)

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv

The senator was bumped off the strong contenders' list, dropping to the 18th to 23rd bracket, 5 spots below his top-13 finish in Pulse Asia's July survey.

His cousin Kris was in the 19th to 23rd bracket in the September 2018 survey.

The actress earlier said that she would not run for senator next year, saying a foray into politics would mean violating several of her commercial endorsement contracts.

• No 2019 Senate run for Kris Aquino

Despite his lower ranking in the surveys, the senator remains hopeful of securing a spot in next year's polls.

"We're going to push for issues that we think are important to the people," he said.

"All of these surveys are a snapshot of where you are but it's not the endpoint. The endpoint is the elections," he added.