Vice Presidential candidate and Senator Bongbong Marcos. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
In the midst of a tight vice presidential race, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Saturday urged his supporters to remain alert yet calm as thousands of votes have yet to be transmitted.
“With a considerable number of votes that have yet to be transmitted, we have to remain vigilant, yet calm and sober, to ensure that the true will of the people will be reflected in the results of the elections,” Marcos said in a statement.
A of 2:45 p.m., Marcos still lagged behind his rival, administration candidate Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo.
Robredo garnered 14,015,098 votes or 35.12 percent while Marcos got 13,799,034 or 34.58 percent, which gives Robredo a lead of 216,064 votes. The total number of votes transmitted is at 96.06 percent.
READ: Robredo cements lead over Marcos in VP race
Despite lagging behind, Marcos thanked his volunteers and supporters “for helping him in the campaign and keeping the faith as he fights for the integrity of the elections.”
“I want to profusely thank our volunteers and our supporters for their selfless act of giving their time and effort in helping ensure free, honest and credible elections,” he said.
The senator had earlier urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) stop the unofficial counting of the ballots in the 2016 elections.
READ: Marcos camp asks Comelec, PPCRV to stop unofficial count
Marcos raised the issue after reports that a script was introduced into the transparency server of the poll body that altered the hash codes without prior authorization of top Comelec officials.
But the Comelec challenged Marcos to show evidence of the inaccurate unofficial count.
READ: Comelec to Marcos camp: Show proof first to stop unofficial tally
Amid this issue, the senator said he would also remain vigilant.
“I will rest when I am satisfied that the results that are being counted, that are official, are actually validated by the results as we can certainly confirm it from local reports that we get from the different precincts,” he said. JE