VP LENI / May 15, 2016 Leading VP candidate Leni Robredo during the thanksgiving mass in Ateneo Church of the Gesu. INQUIRER PHOTO / JILSON SECKLER TIU
The camp of administration vice presidential candidate Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo has claimed victory, saying that with all the remaining votes combined, Robredo will still trump closest rival Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. by a hairline.
In a program after offering a thanksgiving Mass at the Church of the Gesù at the Ateneo de Manila University, the Robredo camp said that with the congresswoman’s current lead of 257,567 deducted by the 233,226 uncounted votes, they will still lead with 24, 341 votes over Marcos.
The uncounted votes are said to be from local votes, overseas absentee votes, and local absentee votes.
“Kahit ibigay pa natin ang lahat ng natitirang boto kay Senator Marcos, batay sa datos na official Comelec mismo ang naglalathala, (kasama na) ang OAV at LAV, lamang pa rin si Congresswoman Leni Robredo ng 24,341 (boto),” said Boyet Dy, a member of Robredo’s campaign team.
(Even if the remaining votes will go to Senator Marcos, according to Comelec’s data, Congresswoman Leni Robredo is still leading by 24,341 votes.)
Dy said that only nine towns have not transmitted their certificates of canvass: Rizal, Laguna; Allen, Northern Samar: Catarman, Northern Samar; Lope de Vega, Northern Samar; Binidayan, Lanao del Sur; Masiu, Lanao del Sur; Tamparan, Lanao del Sur; Indanan, Sulu; and Bacungan, Zamboanga del Norte. The total registered voters in these towns amount to 168, 988.
He said that even if Marcos gets all the 168,988 votes from the nine remaining municipalities, it will not be enough to overcome Robredo’s lead.
In a speech, Robredo asked her supporters to unite for rebuilding the country.
“Huwag na tayong makipag-away kasi panalo na tayo. Kasi kung ikaw yung panalo, ikaw yung magpapa-humble sa sarili mo, ikaw yung magte-take ng high ground, ikaw yung magiging mas understanding. Ang sa akin lang, para sa bayan, kalimutan na natin lahat [ng pag-aaway].”
“Sa buhay, hindi mo mape-please lahat. Ito, saradong konklusyon na ito. In the end, palaging tama ang mananaig. Hindi necessary na every step of the way ay dinedepensahan natin ang mga sarili natin. Ang sa akin lang, magbigay tayo ng mas maraming allowances. After nito ang mas malaking struggle, ‘yung pagbuo natin sa ating bansa,” she said.
(In life, you can’t please everyone. This is a closed conclusion. In the end, the good will always prevail, It’s not necessary that in every step of the way, we have to defend ourselves. For me, we should give allowances. After this is a bigger struggle: building our nation.)
She also thanked her supporters for believing in her since she considers herself the most unlikely candidate.
“Grabeng journey ito lahat para sa atin. Grabeng journey in the sense na dahil sa lahat ng mga kandidato, sa lahat ng posisyon, ako siguro yung pinaka-unlikely. Ako ‘yung pinaka-unlikely in the sense na sino ba ang mag-aakala na may pipili sa akin na mag-vice president?
“Hindi naman biro ‘yung eleksyon sa atin. Kailangan ng maraming-maraming political capital. Ako, coming from nothing. ‘Yung pinaka-political capital ko lang ay ‘yung magandang pangalan ng asawa ko at yung performance ko sa kaunting taon ko sa Kongreso,” she said.
(This was a serious journey because out of all the candidates, I’m the most unlikely. I’m the most unlikely in the sense that who would have thought that there would be people who’d choose me as their vice president? This election wasn’t a joke. A lot of political capital was needed. I came from nothing. My only political capital was my husband’s good name and my performance in my years in Congress.)
Robredo also shot down claims by the Marcos camp that there was a “Plan B” to rig the results of the polls, saying that the only Plan B she had was her “Plan Bangs.”
As of Sunday afternoon, the Comelec said that a total of 1,643 out of 1,651 COCs, or 99.51 percent, have been transmitted to the Comelec’s central server.
According to the unofficial tally from the Comelec-GMA7 mirror server, Robredo leads by more than 200,000 votes against Marcos. JE/rga
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