Aquino wins Philippine presidential polls
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
MANILA, June 8 (AFP): Benigno Aquino was declared the winner of the Philippine presidential election Tuesday, nearly a month after voters went to the polls embracing his pledge to fight corruption and ease deep poverty.
Following a drawn-out vote tallying process, parliament finally released the complete count showing the 50-year-old son of democracy heroes had won the May 10 election in a landslide.
Aquino secured just over 15.2 million votes, or nearly 42 per cent of the total number cast for the most emphatic victory in modern Philippine political history, according to the results released by legislators.
Parliament is set to officially proclaim Aquino the winner on Wednesday.
"We will all be here in full force. This is a historic event," Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile said after the count concluded.
Aquino will on June 30 take over from outgoing President Gloria Arroyo, who will step down as one of the nation's most unpopular leaders after nearly a decade in power.
Aquino achieved his victory on a promise to tackle the corruption and poverty that has plagued the Southeast Asian nation for decades, and he said thrived under Arroyo's rule.
"I want to lead by example. We talk about corruption. I did make a public vow, I will never steal," Aquino told AFP in an interview a day after the elections.
Just as importantly, Aquino cleverly tapped into the enormous public support for his parents, who remain revered for their efforts in ending the 20-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.
His father, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, was shot dead in 1983 at Manila airport as he returned from US exile to lead the democracy movement against Marcos.
His mother, Corazon Aquino, took over from her martyred husband and led the "People Power" revolution that eventually toppled Marcos in 1986. She then served as president for six years.
Aquino, an economics graduate and bachelor, had served for the past 12 years as a low-key member of parliament.
His critics sought to portray him as an uncharismatic leader who had accomplished little in his political career, and he admitted to not having presidential ambitions until his mother died of cancer in August last year.
But her death unleashed a massive outpouring of support for the family, a defining moment that he said convinced him to run for the presidency.
Aquino represents the Liberal Party, one of the nation's oldest that was once led by his parents.
The party, however, suffered a major setback in the elections -- with its pick for the vice presidency, Mar Roxas, losing.
Estrada's running mate, Jejomar Binay, won the vice presidential contest and could now potentially be a destabilising force for Aquino.
The Liberal Party will also not have a majority in either house of parliament.
Arroyo's Lakas Kampi CMD coalition will remain powerful in parliament, and the outgoing president won a seat in the lower house where she could lead opposition to Aquino.
Aside from fighting corruption, Aquino has said improving the economy and bridging the enormous wealth divide will be among his top priorities in government.
A third of the more than 90 million Filipinos live on less than a dollar a day, and job opportunities are so bad that nine million people work abroad.
Aquino has vowed to boost foreign investment, rein in wasteful government spending, improve the civil service and invest in education.
He conceded it will take more than the six years that the constitution sets for presidential terms to carry out his social transformation of the Philippines.
"But we are hoping to provide that impetus and momentum to carry over into the next administration," he told AFP in last month's interview.
Following a drawn-out vote tallying process, parliament finally released the complete count showing the 50-year-old son of democracy heroes had won the May 10 election in a landslide.
Aquino secured just over 15.2 million votes, or nearly 42 per cent of the total number cast for the most emphatic victory in modern Philippine political history, according to the results released by legislators.
Parliament is set to officially proclaim Aquino the winner on Wednesday.
"We will all be here in full force. This is a historic event," Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile said after the count concluded.
Aquino will on June 30 take over from outgoing President Gloria Arroyo, who will step down as one of the nation's most unpopular leaders after nearly a decade in power.
Aquino achieved his victory on a promise to tackle the corruption and poverty that has plagued the Southeast Asian nation for decades, and he said thrived under Arroyo's rule.
"I want to lead by example. We talk about corruption. I did make a public vow, I will never steal," Aquino told AFP in an interview a day after the elections.
Just as importantly, Aquino cleverly tapped into the enormous public support for his parents, who remain revered for their efforts in ending the 20-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.
His father, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, was shot dead in 1983 at Manila airport as he returned from US exile to lead the democracy movement against Marcos.
His mother, Corazon Aquino, took over from her martyred husband and led the "People Power" revolution that eventually toppled Marcos in 1986. She then served as president for six years.
Aquino, an economics graduate and bachelor, had served for the past 12 years as a low-key member of parliament.
His critics sought to portray him as an uncharismatic leader who had accomplished little in his political career, and he admitted to not having presidential ambitions until his mother died of cancer in August last year.
But her death unleashed a massive outpouring of support for the family, a defining moment that he said convinced him to run for the presidency.
Aquino represents the Liberal Party, one of the nation's oldest that was once led by his parents.
The party, however, suffered a major setback in the elections -- with its pick for the vice presidency, Mar Roxas, losing.
Estrada's running mate, Jejomar Binay, won the vice presidential contest and could now potentially be a destabilising force for Aquino.
The Liberal Party will also not have a majority in either house of parliament.
Arroyo's Lakas Kampi CMD coalition will remain powerful in parliament, and the outgoing president won a seat in the lower house where she could lead opposition to Aquino.
Aside from fighting corruption, Aquino has said improving the economy and bridging the enormous wealth divide will be among his top priorities in government.
A third of the more than 90 million Filipinos live on less than a dollar a day, and job opportunities are so bad that nine million people work abroad.
Aquino has vowed to boost foreign investment, rein in wasteful government spending, improve the civil service and invest in education.
He conceded it will take more than the six years that the constitution sets for presidential terms to carry out his social transformation of the Philippines.
"But we are hoping to provide that impetus and momentum to carry over into the next administration," he told AFP in last month's interview.