We stand and give our hand to Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio, officially proclaimed Wednesday evening as the duly elected president and vice president respectively in the May 9, 2022 general elections.
The speed shown by the National Board of Canvassers—the Senate and the House of Representatives—displayed the gleaming frames of a democracy after both chambers convened and conducted the historic and smooth canvassing by Congress.
It finished the tabulation of 171 out of 173 certificates of canvass from 81 provinces and independent cities and those containing absentee local and overseas Filipinos’ votes.
Based on the results of the official canvassing by the Zubiri-Romualdez committee, Marcos, the country’s 17th president, garnered a total 31,629,783 votes while Duterte-Carpio got 32,208,417 votes in the automated elections.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri led the Senate contingent for the NBOC while House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez led the House counterpart.
After termination of the canvassing by Zubiri and Romualdez, both Congressional chambers issued a resolution containing the results of the canvassing, immediately followed by a joint session of Congress, where the 64-year-old Marcos and the 43-year-old Duterte-Carpio were officially proclaimed.
Romualdez thanked his colleagues in Congress, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Majority Leader Zubiri, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, and other members of both chambers as well as candidates for a smooth, speedy and transparent canvass of votes for president and vice president.
Romualdez also congratulated Marcos Jr. and Duterte-Carpio, while expressing gratitude to the other presidential and vice presidential candidates and their lawyers for their invaluable cooperation in the tabulation, carried live on social media platforms.
For his part, Marcos thanked everyone and urged the entire citizenry to help him in ushering a new era of progress for the country.
Zubiri and Romualdez terminated the committee a few minutes after the last COC was canvassed to give both Congressional chambers time to issue a resolution containing the results of the canvassing, followed by the joint session where Marcos and Duterte-Carpio were officially proclaimed.
Romualdez, president of the Lakas-Christian Democrats, commenting on the landslide victory of Marcos and Duterte-Carpio said: “Their overwhelming mandate reflects the people’s desire for unity toward progress and development.”
At the same time, Romualdez expressed his gratitude to outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo and the other presidential and vice presidential candidates and their lawyers for their invaluable cooperation in the tabulation, which was carried live on social media platforms.
“Their manifestations to no longer challenge the COCs and to recognize the integrity and authenticity of the election results smoothed and expedited our canvass, and allowed the canvassing committee to carry out its mandate from the joint session in so short a time,” he said.
They also “reflected a desire on the part of the candidates to put the divisiveness and animosity of the elections behind us, to move on and to give the national healing and unification process a chance,” he said.
The House leader stressed that with such laudable gestures, it would help the incoming Marcos administration to carry out its mandate and deliver on its promises.
As we wish the President and Vice President the best now and in the next six years, with the challenges within their eye range, we paraphrase the prolific Wisconsin-raised American poet Berton Braley: We take off our hat to the warriors who strode/ To victory splendid and high,/ Yea, teach us to stand by the side of the road/ And cheer as the winners go by.//