EXPEDIENT The national canvassing of votes for president and vice president begins in earnest on Tuesday at Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, with Congress leaders promising an accurate, transparent and expedient process. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — Congress, which sits as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), resumed its canvassing of votes for the presidential and vice presidential elections Wednesday morning.
The canvassing of votes resumed around 9 a.m. at the Batasan Pambansa plenary hall in Quezon City.
On the first day of canvassing on Tuesday, Congress was able to process 105 out of 173 — or about 60% — certificates of canvass (COCs) for president and vice president.
Congress suspended its canvassing around 11 p.m.
Based on the latest canvass of votes, presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had the lead with over 24 million votes, which is 58.88% of the total number of votes.
He is followed far behind by Vice President Leni Robredo with 11.4 million votes and Sen. Manny Pacquiao with 2.9 million votes.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, the running mate of Marcos, led the vice presidential race with over 24.1 million votes, representing 60.88% of the canvassed votes.
The total number of votes canvassed is about 40.6 million.
Vote-rich provinces whose COCs have been already processed include Cavite, Pangasinan, Camarines Sur, Laguna, Iloilo City, Batangas, Pampanga, Cebu, Antique, Bulacan, and Rizal.
Congress is eyeing to proclaim the winning presidential and vice presidential candidates on Wednesday night—the earliest—or Thursday morning.
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