Senator Benigno Aquino was proclaimed the next Philippine president amid joyous celebrations yesterday, but he struck a somber tone as he warned the impoverished nation was in crisis.
Aquino crushed his rivals after promising to tackle the pervasive graft and grinding poverty that have long afflicted the sprawling Asian archipelago of more than 90 million people.
Amid wild cheers and applause from a gallery packed with supporters wearing his family’s trademark yellow, a joint session of Congress proclaimed Aquino the next president with more than 15.2 million votes, or nearly 42 percent, of the total.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Senate majority leader Juan Miguel Zubiri declared him “the duly elected president of the republic.”
However, the 50-year-old bachelor immediately sought to focus on the problems facing the sprawling archipelago of more than 90 million people.
“I am a little anxious, a little eager to solve the problems that are besetting our countrymen,” Aquino told reporters in his first public remarks shortly after the proclamation. “I can’t say [I feel] totally joy at this time.”
Aquino, who will take over from Philippine President Gloria Arroyo on June 30, said a fast-growing budget deficit was one of the most pressing issues.
“Immediately, I have a crisis to deal with,” Aquino said of the deficit, which he forecast would hit 400 billion pesos (US$8.5 billion) this year. “We have many problems that we have inherited, contrary to the propaganda of our predecessors.”
Aqunio said he was against imposing new taxes as a solution to the government’s ballooning budget deficit.
“No, new taxes will be a last step if we have done everything and the deficit is still unmanageable,” Aquino told reporters.
Former president Joseph Estrada finished well behind Aquino in second place with nearly 9.5 million votes. However, his running mate, Jejomar Binay, won the vice presidential contest and could potentially be a destabilizing force for Aquino.
Binay said yesterday that he would be a positive influence in government.
“I am a team player and I am willing to work with the president. Whatever is asked of me [I will do],” he said.
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