GMA, Noli lead in Namfrel tally of absentee votes

President Arroyo and her vice presidential running mate Sen. Noli de Castro took the top positions in the final tally of overseas votes from 11 countries conducted by the watchdog group National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel).

The President got 83,506 votes in the tabulation while her closest rival, actor Fernando Poe Jr. of the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP), got 36,195 votes. In third place is evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva with 24,398 votes, followed by Sen. Panfilo Lacson with 22,880 votes. Ailing former senator Raul Roco wound up fifth and last with 21,159 votes.

De Castro, a former broadcaster before he entered politics in 2001, got 95,734 votes and posted a wide lead over his closest rival, fellow ABS-CBN talent Loren Legarda with 77,281 votes. Ranking third was Herminio Aquino of Roco’s Alyansa ng Pag-asa while Rodolfo Pajo of Isang Bansa Ibang Diwa got a measly 445 votes.

In a statement, De Castro thanked the "modern-day heroes" for their support both to him and the President.

"Our overseas Filipinos have once again proven their love for their motherland through responsible voting. By exercising their right to vote, they once again displayed their concern for the future of the country," De Castro said.

Namfrel chairman for overseas voting Ambassador Narcisa Escaler said they only tallied votes from the 11 countries with large number of absentee voters: Brunei, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States, Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.

As this developed, the Namfrel tabulation center at the La Salle-Greenhills gymnasium was hit by a brownout at 4:05 p.m. yesterday, but Namfrel secretary-general Guillermo Luz immediately called a press briefing to report that the count was not affected at all.— Mike Frialde, Evelyn Macairan