Aquino set to be Philippine president

Aquino set to be Philippine president
By Roel Landingin in Manila
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010
Published: May 10 2010 09:11 | Last updated: May 11 2010 08:36
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ad77f142-5c05-11df-95f9-00144feab49a.html


Senator Benigno Aquino, the son of former Philippine president Corazon Aquino, was on course to win presidential elections with initial results giving him a healthy lead over his rivals.

As of 6.00 local time on Tuesday, with 78 per cent of votes counted, Mr Aquino had received 12.3m votes, or 40.2 per cent of the total. His closest rival in the Commission on Election’s advanced count, the former president Joseph Estrada, had received 7.7m votes or 25.5 per cent. Manuel Villar Jr, a senator and wealthy property developer, trailed in third place with 4.3m votes or 14.2 per cent. Further figures are expected later on Tuesday.

Markets reacted favourably to the news, with the Philippine stock index rising 4.99 per cent before closing up 3.85 per cent.

At least three rival presidential contenders, including Mr Villar, conceded defeat on Tuesday. Mr Estrada, however, said he would wait until all votes were counted.

Mr Aquino was also rather cautious in claiming victory, saying that his party and supporters still needed to make sure that all votes for him and his allies were counted correctly in the canvassing of votes that will be carried out by Congress later this month.

“One does not claim victory unless there is certainty,” he said.

Senator Manuel Roxas II, who is running in the separate race for vice-president on Mr Aquino’s ticket, was trailing Jejomar Binay, Mr Estrada’s running mate, by fewer than 1m votes. Mr Aquino said he expected Mr Roxas’ numbers to improve after votes from the Visayan islands come in. Mr Aquino had planned for Mr Roxas, a former trade and industry secretary and Wall Street investment banker, to handle economic policy.

Mr Aquino grew up in the shadow of both his mother and father, democracy hero Benigno Aquino Jr, whose assassination sparked the people power revolution that installed Cory Aquino as president in 1986.

A 50-year-old bachelor who lives in his parents’ 1960s-era bungalow, Mr Aquino has worked mostly in family-owned companies. He won a congressional seat in 1998 and moved to the Senate in 2007. Critics say since then he has authored only a handful of laws.

The first automated national poll was marred by technical glitches and long queues, which watchdogs feared might have discouraged tens of thousands of people from voting. Mr Aquino had to wait hours to cast his ballot because a computer crashed. But the results were in line with pre-election surveys showing popular disaffection with Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the outgoing president.

Mr Aquino’s election could help the Philippines’ 90m people renew their trust in government and institutions whose credibility was damaged by a series of allegations of poll-cheating and corruption against Mrs Arroyo.

Critics accused the outgoing president of appointing loyalists to supposedly independent bodies such as the Supreme Court. Her popularity rating fell to the lowest levels for any president since the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship.

But early results for other national posts showed a strong showing for rival parties, making it potentially difficult for Mr Aquino to win legislative support for his agenda. The leading vice-presidential candidate belongs to another party and so do the leading senatorial candidates.

The country faces soaring deficits and analysts worry that Mr Aquino may not be able to create a political consensus behind measures needed to cut the budget.

Senator’s rise
Benigno Aquino, a 50-year-old senator, joined the presidential race in September amid an outpouring of national grief over the death of his mother. He rapidly emerged as the frontrunner of the nine candidates.

His campaign rode a wave of memories and hopes not realised after the 1986 public revolt that led to the downfall of dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Mr Aquino’s rise is seen as a sign of a public longing to fill a moral vacuum in a country plagued by corruption, poverty and violence. Nearly a quarter-century ago, his mother, Corazon “Cory” Aquino, ushered in democracy, but many voters are disappointed by the lack of progress.

With little legislative record, Mr Aquino has played on his clean image.