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Erap would have won if not for Cory's death, Palace exec says


A Palace official on Wednesday admitted it was Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III's destiny to win in the first-ever automated elections, attributing his victory to the death of his mother, the late president Corazon Aquino. In a news briefing in Malacañang, Presidential Political Affairs Adviser Prospero Pichay even said that if it weren't for sympathy votes in favor of the younger Aquino, deposed President Joseph Estrada might have ended up regaining the top post in the land. "It was his [Noynoy's] destiny. His mother died and he got sympathy votes. If Cory didn’t die, Erap would have been President," Pichay said. The death of Mrs. Aquino — known as an icon of democracy around the world — due to colorectal cancer in August 2009 brought forth national mourning, which eventually prompted her son, Noynoy to finally heed calls to run for president. Results of a number of pre-election preferential surveys showing Aquino consistently on top of the list were validated after partial counts of the May 10 elections produced similar outcomes. "We recognize the people have spoken and they have chosen Sen. Aquino. We have to move on," Pichay said. The Palace does not think widespread cheating happened in the recently-concluded elections, even if administration bet Gilberto Teodoro Jr. lost, Pichay added. "Some people cannot really accept defeat and they try to discredit the election. We should stop this because I don’t believe cheating was that rampant also," said Pichay, who is also Lakas-Kampi-CMD vice president for recruitment and membership. Days after the elections, several individuals, including losing presidential aspirants Jamby Madrigal, JC de los Reyes, and Nicanor Perlas criticized reproted poll irregularities. Both Madrigal and Estrada — who trails presumptive winner Benigno Aquino III in partial results — alleged that pre-programmed Compact Flash cards were used to favor certain candidates. But Pichay said it would have been impossible to carry out large-scale cheating without the blessing of poll officials themselves. "The only way to undertake massive cheating in this election is if everybody cooperates because there are codes only the chairman knows," Pichay said. Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza said even President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took delight over the conduct of elections. She won as congressman of Pampanga's second district. "Automation is still a success. It was really a very successful elections... [Mrs. Arroyo] was very happy this came through,"said Mendoza. Party machinery Aside from validating Aquino's force in this year's elections, the Palace said it was also able to prove that "party machinery" no longer works in Philippine elections with the introduction of new media and poll automation. "One guy with enough resources can run even without a party. A party can win elections… due to electronic media. It's because of the packaging [and] if you have a good handler. You don’t even need watchers anymore because of automated elections," Pichay said. "It’s a realization party machinery wont work anymore," he added. Pichay admitted knowing all along that fielding Teodoro against powerhouse politicians like Estrada and Sen. Manuel "Manny" Villar Jr. would spell "an uphill battle" for the administration. He said that Teodoro — who has never run for national office before his 2010 bid — had the burden of introducing himself to voters who barely had any knowledge of his political track record. "We were not delivering right message. He had lower awareness and approval rating. We didn’t have time… If [Teodoro's bid] started years back, maybe he would have had a chance," Pichay said. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV

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