Australian prime minister hails Noynoy

MANILA, Philippines - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Michael Rudd conveyed yesterday his best wishes to president-apparent Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III as the country’s next leader.

Prime Minister Rudd called Aquino at around 4:30 p.m. shortly after the Senate session where the rules for the canvassing of votes for presidential and vice presidential candidates had been finalized and the nine-man panel from the Senate to sit in the National Board of Canvassers had been formed.

“He looked forward to having a very casual conversation to discuss mutual interest, regional security cooperation, and relationship with China. China is the major superpower in the neighborhood,” Aquino said.

He said the conversation was relaxed and that the Australian leader told him they could talk “over a glass of beer.”

“I could not tell him that I don’t drink,” he said in jest.

Aquino said Sen. Edgardo Angara had a point when he said the congratulatory messages were premature, but he could not stop the calls and messages from coming in.

British Ambassador Stephen Lillie had also congratulated Aquino on his victory in a note last week.

“Technically, I’m not the president-elect until the National Board of Canvassers finishes its job. But at the same time, given the six-year spread, shouldn’t we start working as early as possible?” Aquino said.

He added that the statements from foreign governments were a welcome development and could be an opportunity for him to start discussing a number of concerns, particularly those involving the more than nine million overseas Filipino workers all over the world.

Meanwhile, a source told The STAR that Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao met with some members of the Aquino campaign amid reports that there were attempts to delay the proclamation of winners in the presidential and vice presidential races.

The source said Aquino’s spokesman Edwin Lacierda, LP campaign manager Florencio Abad, and former Trade secretary Johnny Santos were the ones who accommodated the ambassador for a meeting.