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Lawmakers fail to finish national canvass Thursday


The Congress, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), failed to beat its target of finishing the counting of votes for president and vice president by Thursday. This was after the NBOC, composed of 18 lawmakers, deferred its canvass until Monday next week to wait for the certificates of canvass from Bacolod City, Davao City, Mountain Province, Eastern Samar, and Lanao del Sur. Over 1.4 million votes are expected to be counted from the five areas, according to Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, who moved to suspend the canvass until 1 p.m. Monday next week. "It is material to the outcome of the vice presidential race," he said. Expected votes from Bacolod City amount to 205,208; Davao City, 580,236; Mt. Province, 74,79; Eastern Samar, over 100,000; and Lanao del Sur, over 500,000. Zubiri earlier said there were only three COCs left to be canvassed, but after an hour-long with lawmakers, he announced that there were actually still five COCs left. [See: Only 3 COCs left to canvass]


Binay vs Roxas Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay only has a 644,000-lead over Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas II, who followed closely with 13,440,127 votes, based on the tally of 14,084,876 votes as of 6:56 p.m. Thursday. The COCs from Bacolod City have yet to be canvassed due to discrepancies in the COCs. The joint panel, meanwhile, has yet to receive the COCs from Mt. Province, Davao City, and Eastern Samar. Lanao del Sur meanwhile, just held its special elections today. The NBOC had earlier said it could finish the counting by Thursday and proclaim the winners either by Monday or Tuesday. Proclaim Noynoy The legal counsel of presidential front-runner Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, meanwhile, tried to make a motion to have the winner in the presidential race proclaimed Thursday, citing Aquino's wide lead over his closest contender, former President Joseph Estrada. "Since the majority leader mentioned the votes will only be material to the vice presidential race, we reiterate our earlier move for the proclamation of president-elect Noynoy Aquino," said Jose Anselmo Cadiz. The 6:56 p.m. tally showed Aquino with 14,641,803 votes over Estrada's 9,125,823. But Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile pointed out that the joint committee had already suspended its proceedings. "We already said we will tackle it in due course," he said. Zubiri said the joint congressional canvass committee was inclined to proclaim the winners for president and vice president on the same day. He said they will draft their committee report before proclaiming the winners on Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Accuracy vs speed "We will not sacrifice accuracy for speed. We have to be factual. What is another day?" said House Speaker Prospero Nograles. The canvassing was sped up earlier in the day after it was disclosed that Filipinos in 40 overseas absentee voting locations did not vote at all. Efforts to stop the canvassing by lawyer Homobono Adaza, legal counsel for presidential aspirants Senator Jamby Madrigal and environmentalist Nicanor Perlas, were thumbed down by the panel. Adaza reiterated his claim Wednesday that under the law, "only during session of Congress can it canvass the results of president and vice president." Enrile, however, chided him. "There are other remedies available to you, this chair rules that you are out of order," he told Adaza. The Senate and the House will adjourn sine die on Friday. - KBK, GMANews.TV
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