Cayetano concedes to Robredo

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has conceded to leading vice presidential candidate Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo.

In a press statement issued Thursday, Cayetano, running mate of presumptive president Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, said Robredo is not only leading the race but "already won it with majority of the votes tallied."

“It is often said that the voice of the people is the voice of God. In this regard, I humbly concede my vice presidential bid to Rep. Leni Robredo, who, by all accounts and with 96% of the votes already tallied, is our country's presumptive Vice President-elect. Rep. Leni is not only leading the race, she has clearly won it,” he said.

Cayetano said that while losing an election hurts, nothing is more painful than the sight of a divided country. 

“Thus, I call on all the other candidates to respect the people's will and rally behind presumptive President-elect Rodrigo "Rody" Duterte and his presumptive Vice President-elect Leni Robredo. Let us begin the journey toward healing and unification,” he said.

In a short statement, Robredo thanked Cayetano for his gesture and said she is willing to work with him.

"Nagpapasalamat tayo sa pahayag ni Senador Alan Peter Cayetano ukol sa resulta ng eleksyon," she said. "Nananatili tayong bukas sa pakikipagtulungan sa kanya para sa patuloy na pag-unlad ng buhay ng ating kababayan. Tayo’y umaasa na matatapos na ito sa lalong madaling panahon at masimulan na ang paghilom ng ating bayan."

Cayetano expressed confidence that Robredo will likewise respect and value the people's will by giving her full support to the country's new President and his vision to end the disorder in the people's lives and introduce real change to our country.

“I call on the people to rally behind our newly elected leaders. It is in this crucial hour that our voice is needed the most. Let us work together and let the process of real change begin,” he said. 

Based on the Comelec-GMA mirror server, Robredo received 13,973,756 votes while her closest rival, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. got 13,760,369, as of 10:45 a.m. Thursday.

Cayetano, on the other hand, got 5,657,300 votes. 

The other vice presidential candidates –Senators Francis Escudero and Antonio Trillanes IV – have already conceded. — RSJ/KBK, GMA News