The 16th Congress, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), on Friday ended its official canvassing of votes for president and vice president, and eyeing to proclaim the winners by next week.
According to the official tally of the NBOC, Rodrigo R. Duterte got 16,601,997 votes; followed by Manuel A. Roxas II with 9,978,175; Grace Poe with 9,100,991; Jejomar C. Binay with 5,416,140; Miriam Defensor-Santiago with 1,455,532; and Roy V. Seneres Jr. with 25,779.
For vice president, Maria Leonor Robredo got 14,418,817 votes; followed by Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. with 14,155,344; Alan Peter S. Cayetano with 5,903,379; Francis G. Escudero with 4,931,962; Antonio V. Trillanes IV with 868,501; and Gregorio B. Honasan with 788,881.
After the official canvassing, House Majority Leader and Liberal Party Rep. Neptali M. Gonzales II, cochairman in the joint canvassing committee, said the NBOC secretariat will draft a joint canvassing report, which will be approved separately by the House of Representatives and the Senate in a joint session.
“Assuming that we finish all these certificates of canvass Friday and assuming that the NBOC secretariat will work on the report this Saturday and Sunday, we can proclaim the winners Monday at the earliest,” Gonzales said.
Under the Rules for the Canvassing, the joint canvassing committee shall prepare a report on the canvass for submission to the joint public session.
The joint committee report shall be approved by a majority vote of all its members, each panel voting separately. The committee report shall be signed by the majority of the members of each panel.
The rules also said the committee report. shall be presented to the joint public session for its approval. The report will be accompanied with a “Resolution of Both Houses” declaring the results of the canvass and proclaiming the president-elect and vice president-elect.
Upon the adoption of the resolution, the Senate President and the Speaker shall proclaim the president-elect and vice president-elect.
As of press time Friday, the joint panel has finished canvassing at least 145 certificates of canvass (COCs) out of 165 COCs.
Image credits: AP/Bullit Marquez