Villar, Gibo, Gordon concede to Noynoy
By Christina Mendez (The Philippine Star) Updated May 12, 2010 12:00 AM
Presidential frontrunner Benigno Aquino III talks about his priorities as the country’s next leader in an interview at his Times street home in Quezon City. Val Rodriguez
MANILA, Philippines – Saying he would bounce back to defend his integrity that was tarnished by black propaganda and relentless attacks by his opponents during the campaign, Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. yesterday conceded to apparent winner Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party (LP).
“It was a fight well fought. The people have spoken. It was clear that despite our efforts, we were not blessed with victory during last Monday’s elections. I come to you now to accept the people’s verdict,” said Villar in a press conference at the NP headquarters at Starmall in Mandaluyong City yesterday.
Villar was the first among the presidential candidates to concede defeat. Based on the latest tabulation of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday, Villar was trailing Aquino and Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) candidate former President Joseph Estrada.
Extending his congratulatory message to Aquino, Villar said he was saddened by the lies and the allegations during the campaign, even as he promised to “clear my name so that our people will be enlightened.”
“My dream to eradicate poverty does not end here and I intend to continue this, maybe in a different way,” he said, while hinting of putting up a foundation to help address poverty in the country.
Lakas-Kampi-CMD bet Gilbert Teodoro also announced in his own press conference that he was accepting his defeat.
Flanked by Lakas-Kampi senior party officials led by party president Francis Manglapus, Ray Roquero and Mike Toledo, Teodoro congratulated his cousin and categorically stated that he would not accept any government post if one is offered to him.
“The election is over and through the grace of God the process has been peaceful. The people have spoken. I hope they will use this opportunity to serve the country well,” Teodoro, whose running under the administration party was largely perceived as a kiss of death because of President Arroyo, said.
But while conceding defeat is the hardest thing to do, Teodoro said what hurt him most is the betrayal of people he trusted.
A good number of party stalwarts, mostly governors and congressmen, jumped ship in the middle of the campaign and even in the last few days before the election.
However, Teodoro vowed to remain loyal to the party.
Ang Kapatiran Party standard-bearer JC de los Reyes also conceded but vowed to continue the platforms his party advocated during the campaign.
Bagumbayan presidential bet Sen. Richard Gordon also accepted defeat.
“I congratulate Noynoy for his spectacular victory. I call on our people to support him. I ran a straightforward campaign and thought that we could run on the basis of platform, track record, vision and volunteerism,” Gordon said.
Late in the afternoon, Bangon Pilipinas standard-bearer Eddie Villanueva also announced his acceptance of defeat, leaving former President Joseph Estrada, Sen. Jamby Madrigal and independent candidate Nicanor Perlas as the only other candidates who have not conceded.
Madrigal, however, is expected to announce her decision to concede today.
Villanueva, together with his party-mates, said they are conceding to avoid violence.
“With the new president elected, Bangon Pilipinas will find ways to help in nation-building especially in areas where we could pursue social reforms that would benefit the majority of the Filipino people,” he said.
Erap, Perlas won’t concede
Estrada, in a statement, brushed aside the possibility of filing any protest. But he emphasized that he is not conceding to Aquino.
“Lest my silence following the recent presidential elections be misconstrued as conceding the elections to the front-runner, I wish to assure the public that while I plan no protests, I am not conceding,” Estrada said, while appealing to Comelec Chairman Jose Melo to stop issuing final statements based on partial returns.
A certain Jorge Garcia, who claims to be Estrada’s election lawyer, told ABS-CBN News Channel yesterday that the former president would in fact contest Aquino’s apparent victory when the official canvass by Congress begins.
“That’s the plan as of now, unless he (Estrada) changes his mind,” Garcia said.
Margaux Salcedo, Estrada’s spokeswoman, said Garcia is indeed planning to file a protest on behalf of Estrada.
Perlas, on the other hand, said he was also not ready to concede because he wanted to find out first the number of disenfranchised voters.
He said it was unfair for those who voted for him if he would concede so early without checking first on the honesty and integrity of the elections.
From reports gathered by their people in the provinces and what they have monitored on television, Perlas said he was projecting disenfranchised voters to number between 10 million to 15 million.
“I’m trying to get the figures from the Comelec but it’s difficult. If the number of disenfranchised reaches 30 percent of the registered voters then that’s huge. Until I see some more figures, a larger total picture and aggregates, I cannot concede,” he said.
Loren concedes, Mar holds back
In the vice presidential race, Sen. Loren Legarda congratulated Aquino and PMP vice presidential candidate Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, following Villar’s move to concede.
“May their leadership usher in a new era of less poverty, stable economic growth, peace and environmental security,” Legarda said.
AKP vice presidential bet Dominador Chipeco Jr. also conceded but KBL’s Jay Sonza, Lakas-Kampi’s Edu Manzano and Bagumbayan’s Bayani Fernando have yet to issue any statement.
LP’s Sen. Mar Roxas, on the other hand, expressed confidence that he would still be able to overcome the lead of Binay because the votes from his bailiwicks could not be transmitted.
LP director general Chito Gascon said it would be too early to tell who would be the next vice president because Roxas and Binay were in a neck-and-neck race. He also lashed out at Binay for insinuating that Roxas was trying to conduct “special operations” in Mindanao just to win.
The LP said they were still awaiting the transmission of votes from Regions 6 and 7, the bailiwicks of Roxas.
Gascon said it was irresponsible for Binay to make statements that he could be cheated when Roxas had been leading in the surveys for vice presidential bets for a long time.
“We would like to categorically deny what they were saying that there were (LP people) going to Mindanao. Nobody is going to Mindanao. We, like all other Filipinos, are observing, guarding the votes, monitoring the results from clustered precincts, and we are guarding the final results. It is quite clear that 15 percent to 20 percent of the votes from all over the Philippines has not yet arrived, we are still awaiting the results,” he said.
Binay’s spokesman Lito Anzures said special elections were set to be held in certain areas in Regions 6, 7 and Mindanao.
“We certainly hope that this report, if true, is not in any way connected with the information we received about a plan to conduct special operations in these areas,” Anzures said.
Binay said they have reliable information that there is a group roaming in Mindanao to undertake “special operations.”
“These reports are reliable and we would like to put on notice these parties that we are aware of your plan and we are monitoring your movement,” Anzures said.
But Gascon said he could not understand why Binay’s camp had to make such statements. He said the Makati mayor could just be deflecting the issue because his 800,000 lead could evaporate when votes from Roxas’ bailiwicks come in.
“Our commitment is free, fair and honest elections. We believe that Mar Roxas will obtain the necessary votes to ultimately win this election fair and square, particularly because the results in his bailiwicks were underreported,” Gascon said.
Comelec, PPCRV laud Villar’s move
Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) commended Villar for conceding early.
“The Commission expresses its deep admiration for Sen. Manuel Villar’s act of statesmanship in conceding the elections,” Comelec Chairman Melo said in a press conference yesterday at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
“It was a hard fought race for Senator Villar, and one during which he suffered many personal attacks. By rights, Senator Villar could have insisted on seeing this contest through to the bitter end. However, he chose not to do that; instead he chose to set aside personal ambition to speed up the process of political reunification and recovery this country needs to go through after these elections,” Melo added.
The Comelec chair said the poll body also “expressed its gratitude for the vote of confidence in the Automated Election System that underlies the senator’s decision to concede the elections.”
PPCRV chair Henrietta de Villa said Villar’s decision to concede early would calm his supporters and defuse possible tensions.
“Outright I want to congratulate him. It was a very nice thing to do. It is not the characteristic of the Pinoys that if they lose (in an election), they were cheated. This is the beauty of automation. The results came in fast and no one would say that someone cheated,” said De Villa.
When asked if the other presidential bets lagging in the partial count should also concede, the PPCRV chair said that to “concede is a personal decision” but that the vote counts do not lie.
But she does not discount the possibility that there would be other candidates who would also concede to Aquino.
She said she was surprised with the showing of former President Joseph Estrada in the partial tally. Estrada, who had often placed third in the surveys, came up to second spot.
“This is a vindication for President Estrada” who managed to stay in second place since they started counting the transmission from the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) last Monday. –Jose Rodel Clapano, Jess Diaz, Evelyn Macairan, Mike Frialde, Helen Flores, Jaime Laude, Rainier Allan Ronda, Aurea Calica, Perseus Echeminada, Pia Lee-Brago, Christina Mendez
Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=574536&publicationSubCategoryId=63
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