Candidate accepts loss in Philippines

QUEZON CITY, Philippines — Leni Robredo, the vice president of the Philippines, acknowledged Friday her loss in one of the most consequential presidential elections in the country’s history, urging her supporters to accept the results of the vote and to keep fighting disinformation.

Speaking at a rally at the Ateneo de Manila University, where thousands of her supporters had gathered, Robredo did not mention the apparent winner, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the country’s late dictator.

Protests against Marcos came after preliminary results Monday night showed he had won by the biggest margin in more than three decades. But the election had been marred by complaints of vote buying and of broken ballot-counting machines.

Robredo said her team was still looking into the reports of voter fraud but stressed that “as the picture becomes clearer, we need to start accepting that the results of the elections did not go according to our plan.”

“We need to accept the majority’s decision,” she said. “I plead that you join me in this cause.”

Robredo then criticized the “massive machinery to spread hate and lies,” without elaborating. “This stole the truth, as it also stole our history and future,” she said.

The outcome of this election shows how the Marcos family has been successful, at least in part, in rebranding its legacy. It has told Filipinos to “move on” from its sordid past and emphasized that the violent 20-year rule of Marcos’ father was marked by dozens of infrastructure projects and strong economic growth.

Many of the young supporters in the crowd cried when they saw her take the stage. In the months leading up to the election, hundreds of thousands of them had mounted a grassroots movement, going door to door to campaign for the only woman in the race. Her supporters saw her as the antithesis to Marcos, touting her as a leader with a track record who could bring about change.

Although Robredo did not offer a formal concession, her remarks acknowledged her almost certain defeat. Official results of last week’s election are expected by the end of the month.