Presumptive president Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was due to be proclaimed the winner of the May 9 elections as early as Wednesday after his rival Vice President Leni Robredo waived the right to challenge the results during the official canvassing.
Marcos will be officially known as president-elect once the Senate and the House, convening as the National Board of Canvassers, finish the count. In an unofficial tally based on the same source material, he got some 31 million votes compared to 14.8 million for Robredo.
The Vice President late on Tuesday said through her lawyer she would not question certificates of canvass that will be used in the Congress count. Robredo is in New York for the graduation of her youngest daughter Jillian.
Majority president
Marcos Jr. will be the Philippines' 17th president and with 31 million votes, the first majority leader of the Philippines since the 1986 People Power Revolution which ousted his father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. His rise also marks the return of his family to Malacañang after 36 years.
Becoming a majority president "legitimizes" Marcos' win since "it is clearly shown that he has the support of most people", said University of Santo Tomas political science professor Dennis Coronacion.
"It’s his chance to spell his father’s legacy because even with the ill-gotten wealth and the human rights violations, there are still Filipinos who view his father’s legacy as good," Coronacion told reportr in a previous interview.
Ahead of the proclamation, Marcos had named key cabinet secretaries, starting with his running mate, presumptive vice president Sara Duterte-Carpio as education secretary. Duterte-Carpio is expected to be proclaimed too, having won by a landslide as well.
Some personalities who played a key role in the Marcos campaign will also join his Cabinet namely his spokesperson, lawyer Vic Rodriguez as executive secretary, and his campaign manager Benhur Abalos as interior secretary.
READ: Who are Bongbong Marcos' Cabinet Secretaries?
Marcos also tapped former socioeconomic planning secretary Arsenio Balisacan, who will return to his old position under the late President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III.
EXPLAINERS:
Who are Bongbong Marcos' Cabinet Secretaries?
The Powers of the Philippine President, Explained
Marcos and Duterte will officially take office at noon of June 30. President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter is reportedly planning a separate oath-taking in the family's home city of Davao before the end of June.
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