Binay not throwing in the towel yet

 

Vice President Jejomar Binay said Wednesday he will wait for the final result of the canvassing of votes before conceding, a television report said.

 

A report on GMA’s 24 Oras quoted Binay, who is ranked fourth in the partial and unofficial count, as saying he still has doubts on the integrity of the elections amid reports of faulty vote counting machines marring the transmission of election returns.

 

“Ayaw kong gamitin yung salitang concede. Hihintayin na lang hanggang matapos yung electoral process,” he told reporters in Cebu.

 

As of posting time, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte continues lead the race with 15,873,846 votes while Binay only received 5,300,508 votes.

 

Senator Grace Poe and former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas earlier accepted their defeat and have congratulated Duterte.

 

The Vice President is in Cebu to attend the wake of a supporter.

 

Asked if he is ready to accept the offer of unity of presumptive president Duterte, Binay said: “We are talking here of the process, healing is another thing.”

 

He is also not discounting the possibility of filing an election protest. 

 

“Anything is possible,” he said. 

 

United Nationalist Alliance spokesperson Mon Ilagan earlier said they received reports that VCMs nationwide are malfunctioning. He said in Makati City alone, there were 28 defective machines that resulted in confusion and long queues that discouraged voters to cast their votes. 

 

There were also VCM problems in South Cotabato; Valenzuela; Quiapo, Manila; Oriental and Occidental, Mindoro; Moonwalk, Paranaque; Virac, Catanduanes, Talang, Masbate; General Santos City; Surigao del Sur; Sangandaan; Biliran; Pangasinan; Zamboanga Sibugay; Danao, Cebu; and Rizal.

 

In a press statement on May 9, Binay asked the public to respect whatever the outcome of the May 9 polls would be.

 

"I have repeatedly called for respecting institutions and the democratic process. Once the process is completed, we should always respect the outcome," he said in a press statement.

 

"We should all move towards healing and unity for our divided land," he added. — APG, GMA News