Marcos Jr claims victory in Philippines election
MANILA: The camp of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos on Wednesday declared a “decisive victory” in the May 9 presidential elections, citing the huge lead he had garnered based on partial and unofficial votes from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
“With 98 per cent of the votes counted and an unassailable lead of over 16 million votes, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will be the 17th president of the Philippines.
In historic numbers, the people have used their democratic vote to unite our nation,” said lawyer Vic Rodriguez, his spokesman.
As of 2pm on Wednesday, Marcos garnered over 31 million votes. A distant second was Vice President Leni Robredo with over 14 million votes. The same was true in the vice presidential race.
Sara Duterte, the daughter of President Duterte and the mayor of their hometown of Davao City in Mindanao in a teamup with Marcos was also on his way to lopsided win over her closest rival Senator Francis Pangilinan.
Sara also scored over 31 million votes as against Pangilinan’s more than nine million votes.
In his statement, Rodriguez pointed out: “This is a victory for all Filipinos and our democracy. To those who voted for Bongbong and to those who did not, it is his promise to be president for all Filipinos.
“To seek common ground across political divides and to work together to unite a nation.
“To the world, he (Bongbong) says: Judge me not by my ancestors but by my actions,” Rodriguez also quoted Marcos as saying.
He did not elaborate but he was apparently referring to references to the strongman rule of the Marcos family patriarch that was marked by alleged rampant human rights violations and massive plundering of the country’s treasury estimated at more than $10 billion.
The Rodriguez statement followed an announcement from Ned Price, the spokesman of the US State Department, who said that the US “looks forward to working with the next Philippine president.”
In particular, Price said these include “key human rights and regional priorities.”
He also acknowledged that the May 9 national elections were conducted according to international standards and without any major incident.
“Once the president is officially proclaimed, the US will work to strengthen the enduring alliance between the US and the Philippines,” Price said.