Former President Joseph Estrada, through a statement read by his son Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, announced his support for the newly proclaimed president and vice president of the Philippines.
The younger Estrada read the written speech of the former President before the proclamation of Noynoy Aquino and Jejomar Binay as the new President and Vice President, respectively, of the Philippines at the Batasang Pambansa earlier this afternoon, June 9. Erap is currently in London on vacation.
Estrada was Noynoy's closest rival for the presidency in the last elections. The former President initially refused to concede defeat when the automated election results came out, saying that he would only do so when the joint session of Congress tally the results.
When the joint session of Congress completed the tally yesterday, June 8, with Noynoy leading by more than five million votes, Estrada finally stood down and approved of Noynoy's win.
"I humbly accept the final verdict...," Estrada said in his statement. "I sincerely offer my congratulations to my good friend and worthy opponent, President-elect Simeon Benigno Aquino III, on his impending proclamation as the duly elected president of the Republic of the Philippines."
Aquino raked in 15.2 million votes or about 42 percent of the total votes, while Estrada ranked second with 9.5 million votes.
With the end of the controversial and expected outcry of cheating in the elections, Estrada expressed his wish to have a united country follow the new President for the common good of the nation and topple the pillars of greed and corruption.
He added that it is also time for real work to be done and "harness our collective energies to achieve real reforms in governance and in our democratic system."
Estrada continued, "I am confident that President-elect Noynoy Aquino will fulfill his campaign promise to address the problem of corruption. I plead with him as well to wield the awesome powers of the presidency without fear or favor, and with the ultimate objective of uplifting the conditions of the poorest of the poor who are powerless and voiceless against the privileged elite."
Erap, as the former President is also known, also debunked hearsay that he had a falling out with running mate Vice-President-elect Jejomar Binay with this words:
"I join the Filipino people in extending my whole-hearted support to the 15th President of the Republic under whose leadership the country now looks to the future together with my running mate, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, with highest hopes that they will serve our country faithfully and honorably."