Marcos calls on supporters to trust him
MANILA: In his “address to the nation,” former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos called on his supporters to continue trusting him amid his return to Malacanang Palace with his projected landslide victory in the presidential race based on partial and unofficial results from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
While acknowledging that the counting of the votes cast in the May 9 national elections was not yet officially over, Marcos said his gratitude to those who supported him “cannot wait.”
Marcos, the only son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, delivered his message late on Monday night at his campaign headquarters in suburban Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila.
“Like what I said, the counting is not yet over. A lot of people are saying, it’s done but really it’s not. So, let’s wait until it’s very clear and the results are 100 per cent,” Marcos said in Filipino amid shouts from his supporters who converged at the headquarters.
He added: “But if the counting isn’t over yet, my gratitude to all of you cannot wait – my gratitude for everyone who joined our fights for your sacrifices, for your work that gave us time and skills.”
On Tuesday, partial and unofficial Comelec results showed Marcos on the way towards scoring a landslide victory over Vice President Leni Robredo in the presidential race.
Marcos got more than 30 million votes with his lead still growing of more than double against Robredo’s 14 million.
Also widely believed to a lopsided win in the vice presidential race was Marcos’s running mate
Sara Duterte, the daughter of President Duterte and the mayor of their hometown of Davao City in Mindanao.
In the latest count, Sara was ahead with more than 30 million votes as against the 14 million garnered by Robredo’s vice presidential bet Senator Francis Pangilinan.
Giving added significance to Marcos’s mounting lead in the race was the announcement that the
Comelec en banc, by a vote of 6-0-1, threw out the four disqualification cases filed against him.
The decision came a day ater 65 million registered Filipino voters had trooped to the polling centers to cast their ballots on Election Day, May 9.
Butlegalexpertspointedoutthedisqualification cases against Marcos were not yet over.
They said the petitioners could elevate the Comelec decisions to the Supreme Court (SC), which has the final say on the issue.