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QUEZON CITY, Philippines — Leni Robredo, the outgoing vice chairman of the Philippines, acknowledged on Friday her loss in one of the consequential presidential elections within the nation’s historical past, urging her supporters to simply accept the outcomes of the vote and to maintain combating disinformation.
Talking at a rally on the Ateneo de Manila College, the place hundreds of her supporters had gathered, Ms. Robredo didn’t point out the obvious winner, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the nation’s late dictator.
Protests towards Mr. Marcos erupted after preliminary outcomes on Monday night time confirmed that he had gained by the most important margin in additional than three a long time. However the election had been marred by complaints of vote shopping for and damaged ballot-counting machines.
Ms. Robredo mentioned that her staff was nonetheless wanting into the experiences of voter fraud however harassed that “as the image turns into clearer, we have to begin accepting that the outcomes of the elections didn’t go in response to our plan.”
“We have to settle for the bulk’s determination,” she mentioned. “I plead that you simply be a part of me on this trigger.”
Ms. Robredo then criticized the “large equipment to unfold hate and lies,” with out elaborating. “This stole the reality, because it additionally stole our historical past and future,” she mentioned.
Disinformation isn’t distinctive to the Philippines, nevertheless it has flourished in latest campaigns. The result of this election exhibits how the Marcos household has been profitable, a minimum of partly, in rebranding its legacy. It has instructed Filipinos to “transfer on” from its sordid previous and emphasised that the violent 20-year rule of Ferdinand E. Marcos was marked by dozens of infrastructure tasks and powerful financial development.
“I’ll channel all my power in combating lies,” Ms. Robredo mentioned. “And I ask you to hitch me on this struggle.”
Most of the younger supporters within the crowd cried once they noticed her take the stage. Within the months main as much as the election, a whole bunch of hundreds of them had mounted an unprecedented grass-roots motion, going door to door to marketing campaign for the one lady within the race. Her supporters noticed her because the antithesis to Mr. Marcos, touting her as a frontrunner with a monitor report who may result in change.
Ms. Robredo’s remarks got here after her working mate, Senator Francis Pangilinan, who ran for vice chairman, instructed their supporters that “the struggle continues to be removed from over, particularly at this level when lies and deceit are gaining floor.”
Perceive the Philippines Presidential Election
A consequential election. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the previous Philippines dictator, appeared to clinch a landslide victory in a divisive presidential election, elevating profound questions on the way forward for Southeast Asia’s oldest democracy. Right here’s what to know:
Although Ms. Robredo didn’t supply a proper concession, her remarks acknowledged her nearly sure defeat. Official outcomes of this week’s election are anticipated by the top of the month.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden and China’s chief Xi Jinping each congratulated Mr. Marcos. His victory capped a outstanding comeback for a household who was hounded in another country 36 years in the past after thousands and thousands of Filipinos poured into the streets of Manila in peaceable protests often known as the “Individuals Energy” revolt.
Mr. Marcos’s critics say that they concern democratic norms will erode additional underneath him.
However Ms. Robredo ended her speech on a hopeful observe. She mentioned that she would arrange a nongovernmental group targeted on serving to the marginalized with “the widest volunteer community within the historical past of our nation.”
Ms. Robredo acknowledged that whereas her supporters had been upset in regards to the loss, “What I’ve realized from troublesome conditions is that therapeutic doesn’t come when you’re sulking by yourself. It comes while you begin specializing in different individuals.”
“Permit your self to cry,” Ms. Robredo mentioned. “However while you’re able to wipe away your tears, put together your self, strengthen your coronary heart as a result of we’ve got work to do.”
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