MANILA, Philippines – In the partial, official results in the Congress’ canvassing of votes, opposition tandem of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan lost as a tandem in all countries and territories in the overseas election except for one: the Vatican City.

President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and vice president-elect Sara Duterte won as a tandem in all countries except for the Vatican and Australia. In Australia, Robredo won as president, but Duterte won as vice president.

In the Vatican City, where there are 602 registered voters, 191 members of the Filipino community voted for Robredo, while Marcos got 98 votes in the city. In the vice presidential race, Pangilinan got 136 votes – although Duterte came close with 126 votes.

The Vatican City is host to hundreds of Filipinos based on the registered voters for 2022, mostly composed of priests and nuns. Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Vatican’s prefect for the Congregation of the Evangelization of Peoples, is based in the city as well.

Before Congress terminated the joint session on Wednesday, May 25, Deputy Speaker Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla reported that, according to the Commission on Elections, results from the Philippine embassies in Buenos Aires and Syria had not yet transmitted their results.

However, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said that these would not affect the rankings among the candidates.

Support from Catholic leaders

During the campaign period, leaders from the typically non-partisan Catholic Church started to come out in support of Robredo and Pangilinan. In February, more than 500 Catholic priests, deacons, brothers, and religious sisters endorsed the tandem, breaking a long-held tradition that discourages Catholic leaders from supporting specific candidates.

In May, over 1,200 priests, bishops, and deacons added to the support. The Clergy for the Moral Choice appealed to Filipinos “to remind them gently yet firmly of their sacred duty to vote and to vote only for the right leaders of this our beloved country, the Philippines, to choose and to elect true servant-leaders whose hearts are really after the heart of the Good Shepherd – just like Leni and Kiko.”

The Council of Bishops of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines also joined in the rare religious endorsements in support of Robredo and Pangilinan.

“In choosing them, we are guided by our awe-inspiring commitment to herald the truth and be by the side of the most oppressed and vulnerable sectors of our society,” the bishops said.

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As for other churches, Iglesia ni Cristo officially endorsed Marcos and Duterte, while doomsday pastor Apollo Quiboloy has backed the Uniteam tandem as well.

In Australia, there were close fights for both the presidential and vice presidential position. Robredo won in the country with 4,487 votes against Marcos’ 4,162 votes. Meanwhile, Duterte won with 4,590, and Pangilinan came second with 3,938.

Robredo and Pangilinan also won as a tandem in results processed by the Philippine consulate in New York, or among the consulate’s jurisdiction of Filipinos registered in Northeastern United States. In the United States as a whole, however, Robredo lost to Marcos by 2,909 votes, and Pangilinan lost to Duterte by 8,791 votes.

Meanwhile, in local absentee voting (LAV) – when Filipinos working on election day such as government employees, members of the police force, and the media cast their votes in advance – Marcos and Duterte also posted a win. Marcos garnered 67,225 votes among local absentee voters, while Duterte got 69,056 votes.

Robredo and Pangilinan were far second-placers in LAV with 3,440 and 1,990 votes, respectively.

As for the persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), or detained Filipinos who were able to cast their votes, it was a win for Marcos and Pangilinan by only one vote each. Marcos won among PDLs with 44 votes against Robredo’s 43, and Pangilinan won over Duterte with 32 votes against her 31. – Rappler.com