No directive from Erap Estrada to file election protest, says lawyer

Mayor Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada casts his vote in Manila for the midterm elections on May 13, 2019. INQUIRER.NET / TETCH TORRES-TUPAS

MANILA, Philippines — Although Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada has yet to concede following the results of the mayoral race in Manila, his lawyer said there is still no instruction to contest the election outcome.

Atty. George Garcia said so far Estrada has not mentioned anything about the possibility of filing an election protest.

“Nagsabi lang siya na parang hindi siya makapaniwala sa naging result kasi sabi niya, ‘Consistent akong topnotcher sa survey.’ Walang isang survey na nagsasabing siya ay second o third placer,” Garcia said, quoting the outgoing mayor.

Estrada lost his bid for a third term as Manila Mayor against former vice mayor Isko Moreno. Moreno was already proclaimed as the new mayor Tuesday night with 357,925 votes over Estrada’s 210,605 votes.

If Estrada will concede, Garcia said “at the end of the day, I think the former President and former Mayor of Manila will definitely approach this problem in a statesmanly manner.”

“Matatanggap naman niya lahat ng bagay,” Garcia said. (Editor: Julie Espinosa)