Marcos camp declares victory

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. yesterday declared victory in the presidential election, citing an unprecedented majority vote of over 31 million in nearly completed quick counts.

“With 98 percent of the votes counted and an unassailable lead of over 16 million votes, the Filipino people have spoken decisively,” Marcos spokesman and chief of staff Vic Rodriguez said of the unofficial results of Monday’s polls.

“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,” he added.

“To the world, he says: Judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions,” Rodriguez said.

While the quick counts are almost concluded, the official canvassing by Congress for the positions of president and vice president will not start until May 24.

As of noon yesterday, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer has maintained his insurmountable lead of 16 million votes over closest rival Vice President Leni Robredo in the quick counts based on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Transparency Media Server.

Rodriguez gave assurance that Marcos would pursue his platform of national unity and bring together a nation deeply polarized by this election.

“To those who voted for Bongbong, and those who did not, it is his promise to be a president for all Filipinos, to seek common ground across political divides and to work together to unite the nation,” he said.

He added that a Marcos presidency would be “working across the Philippines, and with international partners and organizations, to address critical issues facing the country.”

Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said the proclamation of winners is expected by May 27 or 28.

In the same interview with CNN Philippines, Rodriguez revealed that Marcos already has some names in mind for his Cabinet.

“Absolutely, he has names on his mind. However, that’s the character of Bongbong, of president-elect Bongbong – he does not want to get ahead of himself,” he said partly in Filipino.

But the composition of Marcos’ Cabinet is included in discussions for the transition of the government “probably beginning this afternoon (May 11),” Rodriguez said.

Bongbong pays homage to father

Last Tuesday, Marcos visited the grave of his father at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City.

His camp released photos of his visit yesterday, showing him offering flowers to the tomb and apparently in tears.

In a brief statement, they said the late strongman was his son’s inspiration.

“The young Marcos is grateful to the Filipino people for giving him the landslide victory and to his father who has been his inspiration throughout his life and taught him the value and meaning of true leadership,” it read.

Improve poll system

Meanwhile, one area of improvement targeted by Marcos when he sits as president is the country’s automated election system (AES).

Rodriguez assured the public that Marcos will look into concerns raised about the AES, particularly on malfunctioning vote counting machines (VCMs).

“President-elect Bongbong Marcos will definitely attend to it – the few glitches in this election like the malfunctioning and non-working vote counting machines and the ‘none’ declaration by witnesses and watchers during the conduct of the printing of the ballots,” he told CNN Philippines in an interview.

He said these claims have been formally raised by their camp before the Comelec even as they acknowledge that the conduct of the polls was satisfactory overall.

Marcoses dominate

A landslide victory was also scored by incumbent Ilocos Norte Gov. Matthew Marcos Manotoc, who will now be serving his second consecutive three-year term in office.

With 261,885 votes against the 94,372 votes garnered by his rival, former congressman Rodolfo Fariñas, Manotoc was proclaimed winner of the polls at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Session Hall in Laoag City.

Reelected Vice Gov. Cecilia Araneta-Marcos also saw a landslide win with 267,896 votes.

Team Marcos also had Ferdinand Alexander Marcos winning as Ilocos Norte First District congressman with 108,423 votes, and Second District Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba getting reelected with 127,867 votes. – Artemio Dumlao