Pacquiao concedes to Marcos

SHORTLY before midnight on Tuesday, May 10, PROMDI presidential candidate Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao conceded the race to UniTeam standard bearer former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr..

In a recorded statement posted in his official Facebook (fb) account, Pacquiao admitted defeat to Marcos.

"Marunong ako tumanggap ng pagkatalo. Sana lang, kahit talo ako sa laban na ito, panalo pa rin ang mga kapwa ko Pilipino, 'yung mga naghihirap (I know how to accept defeat. I hope, even though I lost in this fight, my fellow Filipinos, especially the poor, still win in this race)," Pacquiao said.

"Sa ating susunod na pangulong Bongbong Marcos, ako'y nananalangin sa tagumpay ng inyong administrasyon na maraming mahihirap ang mai-angat ang buhay at matulungan (To the incoming president Bongbong Marcos, I pray for the success of your administration that many poor will have better lives and that they will be provided help)," Pacquiao added.

Under a partial, unofficial count by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) of the just concluded May 9 presidential race, Pacquiao ranked third behind former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leonor "Leni" Robredo.

Based on the partial and unofficial results, Pacquiao has 3,627,979 votes as of 11:10 p.m. on Tuesday, with 98.17 percent of the precincts reporting results.

Frontrunner Marcos has more than 31 million votes as of Tuesday night and is poised to be the first majority president post-EDSA People Power Revolution.

Pacquiao has also mentioned in his Facebook post that he will return to his private life as his Senate term ends in June, this year. However, he bowed to continue to help the poor through his foundation.

Source: TheManila Times