Following the quickest canvassing in the country’s election history, the Congress named former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as president and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte as vice president on Wednesday, May 25.
The House and Senate, serving as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), accepted the joint canvassing committee report and the accompanying joint resolution on the proclamation of the validly elected victors in the presidential and vice-presidential elections on May 9.
The joint congressional canvassing committee validated Marcos’ victory by a landslide of 31,629,783 votes, or more than 16 million votes ahead of second-place presidential contender Leni Robredo.
Duterte, on the other hand, won the vice presidential contest decisively in the Congress’ official count, with 32,208,417 votes, or a massive 22 million advantage over her nearest opponent, Senator Francis Pangilinan.
RELATED STORY: No scheduled meeting yet between Duterte, Marcos ahead of inauguration
Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Speaker Lord Allan Velasco declared Marcos and Duterte to be the legitimately elected President and Vice President, respectively.
The announcement follows the National Board of Canvassers’ two-day official vote tally.
House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez emphasized that voter turnout was a record-breaking 83.11 percent with more than 55 million votes on May 9.
“Indeed, our democracy is alive and vibrant! The ever-growing political interest shown by our electorate is symbolic of the people’s clamor for change, prosperity, and progress,” said Romualdez.
He stated that the Joint Committee canvassed 171 certificates of canvass (CoCs), 132 of which were electronically transmitted to the Consolidated and Canvassing System (CCS) by the Board of Canvassers of provinces, cities, and overseas absentee voting countries, and 39 of which were physically delivered to the Senate by the Special Board of Canvassers for overseas absentee voting, local absentee voting, and detainee voting.
He asked Filipinos to put political differences aside and support the country’s newly proclaimed top leaders.
READ ON: BBM-SARA wins in vote-rich UAE
“With the country reeling from the impact of a global pandemic and other major calamities and disasters, it was evident that the nation was divided as to what direction to take in order to move forward. But the majority has spoken. It is high time that we listen to their voice and uphold the outcome of our democratic process,” he added.
The Marcos-Duterte UniTeam pair was elected on a message of unity, and their victory will serve as a “stepping stone” in the country’s recovery from the coronavirus outbreak.
Earlier, foreign leaders from the United States, China, Russia, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and the European Union congratulated Marcos on his victory.
Following Congress’ designation of Marcos as president-elect, the transition phase leading up to his inauguration on June 30 will commence.
Meanwhile, Duterte already stated that her inauguration will take place on June 19.
