Candidates Who Conceded

by Pinoylive on 11/05/10 at 12:01 pm

We all see the partial tally rising gradually with a clear picture of Noynoy Aquino being the winner among the presidentiables. Five of his rivals accepted defeat and congratulated him for what seems like his impending victory, on Tuesday. The first to concede was Aquino’s colleague in the Senate and fiercest rival to the presidency during the campaign period, Manny Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party).

Deriving from Villar’s prepared statement, he said, “Humaharap ako sa inyo ngayon upang tanggapin ang pasyang ito. Upang igalang ang boses ng sambayanang Pilipino (I now face you all to admit my defeat). I congratulate Senator Noynoy Aquino on his victory. The challenges he and our country faces are enormous and we should all work together.” Villar’s move earned him admiration from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Sen. Richard Gordon (Bagumbayan), JC de los Reyes (Ang Kapatiran), Bro. Eddie Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas), and Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) followed Villar’s steps. Gordon already congratulated Noynoy Aquino for his “spectacular victory,” through his facebook status and called upon the nation to unite and support the new administration. “We accept the will of the people. Today, we have a victory for democracy with the successful exercise of our first nationwide automated election despite naysayers and doubters,” said Gordon. Gordon likewise thanked his supporters, especially his volunteers particularly “those who gave up their limited resources as a manifestation of trust in his brand of leadership and track record. I ran a very truthful, straightforward and candid campaign and thought we could run on the basis of our platform, track record and volunteerism,” he said.

De los Reyes, on the other hand, said through a text message, that although Aquino’s platforms differ from his, he would still “support his government in other reform efforts we have in common.”

Gibo Teodoro, who is Aquino’s cousin, said he is happy with the results of the elections, while Villanueva said he informed Aquino through a phone call that he would be praying for his success and blessing. “I will also ask him (Aquino) and the legislators to look into the election laws so that it could be perfected.” “Lest my silence following the recent presidential elections be misconstrued for conceding the elections to the front runner, I wish to assure the public that while I plan no protest, I am not conceding,” he said. Teodoro thanked his supporters whom he said did not support him but his idea of national unity and positivism. He said he is not blaming anybody for his defeat.

Meanwhile, Vice Presidential bet, Loren Legarda, emotionally conceded through a prescon and congratulated Jejomar Binay for winning.

From GMA Network’s partial and unofficial tally as of 9:12 p.m. of Tuesday, May 11, Aquino remained at the top spot with 13,165,343 votes. Villar ranked third with 4,739,299; Teodoro at 4th with 3,509,495; Villanueva at 5th with 985,817; Gordon at sixth with 449,592; and De los Reyes at 9th with 38,194. Second placer Joseph Estrada, who has 8,425,937 votes in the tally, said it is still too early for him to