Cayetano concedes to Robredo

MANILA, Philippines - Losing vice presidential candidate Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has conceded to vice presidential frontrunner and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo.

“I humbly concede my vice presidential bid to Rep. Leni Robredo, who, by all accounts and with 96 percent of the votes already tallied, is our country’s presumptive vice president-elect,” Cayetano said in a statement.

He believes that Robredo “is not only leading the [vice presidential] race, [but] she has clearly won it.”

Cayetano, a running mate of presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte, also called on other candidates to respect the people’s decision and to rally behind Duterte and Robredo.

“While losing an election hurts, nothing is more painful than the sight of a divided country,” he said.

“Let us begin the journey toward healing and unification,” he added.

Cayetano is confident that Robredo will also “respect and value” the people’s full support to Duterte and his vision to the real change that he desires.

“I call on the people to rally behind our newly elected leaders. It is in this crucial hour that our voice is needed the most. Let us work together and let the process of real change begin,” he disclosed.

Based on the partial and unofficial count of votes, Duterte and Robredo are leading in the presidential and vice presidential race, respectively.