MANILA (Updated) -- Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Francis Escudero, Allan Peter Cayetano and Gringo Honasan conceded the vice presidential race on Tuesday.
Based on the latest unofficial count, all four vice presidential candidates are trailing Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo and Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who are in a tight fight for the top post.
Escudero was the first to concede while in his hometown Sorsogon City. He also wished that Robredo, his fellow Bicolano, win the vice presidency.
"Tinatanggap ko ng may buong pagpapakumbaba ang resulta ng halalan. Binabati ko si Mayor Duterte sa kanyang panalo, at sa nagdidikitang laban sa ikalawang pangulo, binabati ko kung sino man ang mananaig sa dulo pero siyempre mas ninanais kong kababayan ko na kung may mananalo," Escudero said.
In a statement, Trillanes conceded defeat in the race.
"As our countrymen await the final victor, I hereby concede defeat in the vice presidential race. I humbly submit to the will of the people for they are sovereign in our democracy. May God bless our country," Trillanes said in a statement.
Trillanes said he would return to the Senate to work on certain causes on the remainder of his term. His term will end on 2019.
"I will continue with my advocacies as a legislator in our system of checks and balances. May God bless our country," the senator said.
Trillanes, who exposed the alleged undeclared wealth of the now-leading presidential candidate Davao City Rodrigo Duterte, said that he will not be a "hindrance" to mayor's plans for the country.
"I respect the will of the Filipino people. They have spoken clearly and resoundingly that they want Mayor Duterte to be our next president...I assure the mayor and our countrymen that I will not be a hindrance to the reform initiatives he intends to push in our government," he said.
Duterte leads his rivals, Manuel Roxas II and Senator Grace Poe, by wide margin with 90 percent of the presidential votes transmitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) transparency server.
Poe conceded to Duterte few hours after polls closed on Monday.
Poe's running mate, Escudero, also accepted defeat.
Honasan took to the social media to congratulate all the winners in the national and local races.
"May Almighty God grant you the wisdom, courage, compassion, and vision to help heal, unite and lead the Filipino people towards a brighter future for the sake of our most precious God-given next generation of citizens and leaders: our children," Honasan said.
Cayetano, Duterte's running mate, was in Davao City when he announced his concession in the vice presidential race.
"Earlier today, I saw the trend and I congratulate whoever will be number one. That is democracy. We all present ourselves but whoever wins squarely and fairly deserves the support of the electorate," he told reporters in Davao City.
He congratulated "whoever will win" in the race.
Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista congratulated Tuesday all the candidates who already conceded in the national race.
In a press briefing at Comelec's headquarters at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), the poll chief said conceding represents good gesture that should be continued in the future elections.
"I congratulate all the candidates who have already conceded. That is a good tradition," he said.
Bautista was all praises for the presidential and vice presidential candidates for accepting defeat.
"If a candidate believes that he does not have a chance to win, the proper way is to concede," Bautista said.
"I hope this will become a tradition that could be practiced for the future elections," Bautista added.
The poll chief also congratulates all the board of election inspectors (BEIs) who served as the poll body's frontliners.
"I would also like to congratulate the BEIs. They are the frontrunners of the democracy. They are the ones really running our elections," Bautista said.
2016 voter turn out 'historic'
Meanwhile, the voter turn out for the May 9 automated elections has reached 81.62%, Comelec announced Monday night.
Of the 54.4 million registered voters, about 40 million exercised their right to vote.
Bautista described this as 'historic' as the turn out exceeded last 2010 and 2013 polls.
The poll body chief said that during the 2010 presidential elections, the voter turnout was at 74.8 percent while in the 2013 elections, it was 77 percent. (With FP/Sunnex)