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Erap finally concedes, will support Noynoy Aquino


Former President Joseph Estrada on Wednesday officially conceded to Sen. Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III as the rightful winner in the May 10 presidential race and asked Filipinos to rally behind the next administration. Estrada came in second in the final tally but trailed Aquino by a wide margin, and kept the nation in suspense about when he would concede. Estrada's son, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, delivered Estrada's statement before the joint session of Congress which is expected to proclaim Aquino as president and Estrada's running mate Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay as vice president Wednesday afternoon. "I humbly accept the final verdict borne out by the official results," Estrada said. "I sincerely offer my congratulations to my good friend and worthy opponent, president-elect Benigno Simeon Aquino III on his impending proclamation as the duly elected president of the Republic of the Philippines," he said. In his statement, the former president and movie star said he would continue to serve the masses in whatever way he could. Aquino had a 5.7-million lead over Estrada, the second placer in the presidential race, based on Congress’ official tally. Estrada got over 9 million votes, while Aquino garnered over 15 million votes. In an earlier interview with GMA News, Estrada's spokesman Margaux Salcedo said the former president would keep a low profile in the country's political affairs during the Aquino's term. Estrada would decline any appointment in the next administration and would instead focus on his projects for the poor, GMA News’ JP Soriano quoted Salcedo as saying. The former president fully supports Aquino’s presidency, and finds no reason to lead the opposition during the incoming president’s term, Salcedo said. Estrada was the Philippines' 13th president, who served from 1998 to 2001, but was ousted in a popular uprising after a failed impeachment in the Senate for alleged corruption. His ouster paved the way for his then vice president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to be sworn in as the president. Estrada was convicted of plunder by a special court in 2007, but was later pardoned by Arroyo. ‘Divinely inspired’ Estrada recognized Aquino’s landslide victory. “I believe that the president-elect Aquino has the mandate of the electorate. He rightfully carried with pride… the legacy of his martyred father, the late Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., and that of his mother, the late former President Corazon Aquino. “More than that, Noynoy Aquino bravely stood up to the challenge of times when destiny called upon him to run for president under circumstances that can be described as divinely inspired," he added. He urged Filipinos to “rally behind the new president-elect" and go beyond “partisan and political interests" to begin rebuilding the country. “I now call on our people to rally behind president-elect Benigno Aquino III and rise above the dictates of our partisan and political interests. There is much to be done as we now begin to rebuild our nation so that we can liberate our people from the evils of poverty, corruption, criminality and divisiveness," he said. Estrada, who won the 1998 national elections on a pro-poor platform, also appealed to Aquino not to forget the masses. “Ang tanging hiling ko lang ay huwag mo sanang kalimutan ang ating masang Pilipino at pagtulungan natin silang ihango sa kahirapan," he said. Poll fraud Still, Estrada challenged the incoming administration on allegations of fraud during the May 10 polls. “This is a very serious issue that I believe our new set of leaders must immediately address — to find out what went wrong, who are liable and answerable for throwing our people into this state of confusion and doubt," he said. The former president also criticized the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and its technology provider, Smartmatic-Asia, for “failures" that threw “people into a state of confusion and doubt," and commended voters on their patience to exercise the right to vote. “If we succeeded in having elections last May 10, despite the Comelec’s and Smartmatic’s failures, whether intentional or out of sheer neglect, the sole credit must go to the Filipino voters who remained determined to exercise their right to suffrage," he said. According to Estrada, he wants closure on all issues of electoral fraud “not to diminish the victory of the winners" but to ensure that every ballot is counted. “We owe this to every Filipino who seriously took the task of learning how this automated system works… Every ballot cast must be counted and respected as an expression of the sovereign will," he said. VS, GMANews.TV

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