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Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Roco concedes to Arroyo, condemns poll fraud
MANILA -- Independent candidate Raul Roco on Monday conceded defeat in the presidential election to incumbent Gloria Arroyo, saying the country should move forward from the bitter electoral exercise.
"This afternoon I congratulated President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the mandate she has received from the people as indicated by published results," Roco said in a written statement.
Arroyo welcomed Roco's move.
However, three other Arroyo rivals, including Poe, have not conceded and have accused Arroyo of mounting wide-scale fraud to steal the election.
"For now, a sober effort to get the country going should be the agenda of every Filipino," Roco said, describing Arroyo's presumed mandate as "weakened" by opposition allegations of fraud.
Exit polls have projected Arroyo winning a six-year mandate from the May 10 balloting by about three million votes over main rival Fernando Poe, the country's most popular movie star.
However, the official manual count is expected to take weeks.
The exit poll numbers are tracking the results of government-sanctioned but incomplete "quick count" by the independent monitor National Citizens Movement for Free Elections.
The unofficial count had Roco, an estranged former member of the Arroyo cabinet, dead last at fifth place.
"It is time to get into the mainstream of development in this shrinking global village where knowledge, talent and creativity can still make a difference for the Filipino People," Roco said Monday.
Weakened mandate
He, too, criticized the conduct of elections.
"To be sure, the mandate is weakened by widespread vote buying. The economic effects of such cynical misuse of public or private funds will be the burden of the incoming government," he said.
He said his party would supply "adequate evidence" of the alleged fraud "in due course."
The 62-year-old former education secretary also vowed to continue working for a moral regime in the country.
Arroyo conceded that violence that left over 140 people dead during a three-month electoral campaign as well as the apparent inability of many Filipinos to find their names on the voter rosters had marred the elections.
However, she described these cases as "isolated" and would not blemish the victor.
On Monday, Arroyo said she was "concerned over reports of localized cheating and isolated cases of violence that tend to undermine the image of Philippine democracy."
She urged election officials to "thoroughly investigate all specific, substantiated cases of electoral fraud regardless of partisan involvement."
Roco, before conceding, lauded President Arroyo for showing commitment to the rule of law and fair elections as shown in Grace Padaca's case.
"The specific case of Grace Padaca, gubernatorial candidate in Isabela leading by all published reports by as much as 30,000 votes over an entrenched feudal political leader, becomes the measure of President Arroyo's commitment to the rule of law," Roco said.
Evidence needed
Roco asked all losing candidates to show support to the winners and adequate evidence of alleged electoral fraud they claimed occurred during the May 10 elections.
"For now, a sober effort to get the country going should be the agenda of every Filipino," he added.
Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye said Malacaņang is hoping that the other candidates would follow Roco's move.
"The President appreciates the most gentlemanly gesture of Secretary Roco and wishes that all other similarly situated candidates, whether for President or for other positions, would emulate him," he said.
"Absent any documented irregularities or fraud, the results of the democratic process should be respected. The sooner we can leave the highly partisan atmosphere of the elections behind, the sooner we can move on with our task of nation-building," he added.
Meanwhile, arrest orders have been issued for an army colonel who allegedly campaigned for opposition candidate Poe, officials said Monday.
Colonel Jose Gamus, who is on leave, has been ordered to surrender to his brigade commander to answer charges of "committing acts inimical to the Army's rules and regulations," army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Buenaventura Pascual said.
He accused Gamus of "openly campaigning for presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. in Sulu province" in the south.
The military brass said it is closely watching a number of retired and active military officers over alleged plots to destabilize the 130,000-strong Armed Forces a week after the voting.
There appeared to be a "grand effort of certain partisan groups to undermine the cohesiveness of the (military) and create dissension within our ranks as part of a political agenda," chief of staff General Narciso Abaya told a news conference.
Arroyo survived a military rebellion last year. JPM/JMR/(With AFP)
(May 18, 2004 issue)
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