(Eagle News) — Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Philippine president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying he hoped that his victory at the recent elections would lead to the “further development” of bilateral ties between Russia and the Philippines in various areas.
In a statement posted late evening of May 12 by the Russian Embassy in the country on its official Facebook page, the Embassy said that President Putin had sent a written message to Marcos Jr., who had won the May 9, 2022 election with over 31 million votes as of the latest unofficial count of almost 99 percent of the votes counted
“Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos on the occasion of his victory at the elections of President of the Republic of the Philippines,” said the Russian Embassy’s statement.
It said that President Putin had noted that the relations between Russia and the Philippines “were traditionally friendly.
Putin said that it was also in the interest of both Russia and the Philippines “to strengthen security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.”
“I hope that your efforts as Head of State will facilitate further development of the fruitful cooperation between Russia and the Philippines in various areas. This meets in full the interests of our nations and is in line with the endeavors to strengthen security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region,” the Russian leader wrote in his message.
The Russian president’s congratulatory message comes after US President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping called up Marcos Jr., the son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos who ruled the country for 20 years, to congratulate him on his win.
Various world leaders have also sent their congratulations to the Philippines’ president-elect after results showed his landslide victory.
According to Marcos Jr’s spokesperson, Vic Rodriguez, the government’s of South Korea, India, Pakistan and Romania have also sent their congratulatory messages on Friday.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday also congratulated Marcos Jr. on his victory at the polls.
-Other presidentiables concede-
Among Marcos Jr’s rivals in the Philippine presidential race, it was Manila mayor Franciso “Isko Moreno” Domagoso who was the first to concede and congratulate him on May 10, a day after the Philippine elections.
He was followed by senators Panfilo Lacson Jr., and Manny Pacquiao who ranked fifth and third among the presidential bets based on the latest count.
Marcos Jr’s lead over Vice-President Leni Robredo, the chair of the Liberal Party who ran as an independent bet, was over 16 million votes. The margin of votes was bigger than the number of votes cast for Robredo who got 14.8 million as of the latest partial and unofficial count from the Commission on Elections’ tranparency server.
Robredo, on May 10, had initially talked of continuing to fight for her supporters and of her dismay of the turn of events at the polls where she lost by a huge margin. Robredo’s supporters included many of the anti-Marcos groups who have vowed to fight a Marcos return.
On Friday night, May 13, Robredo urged her supporters to recognize the will of the people, the “voice of the majority” in her thanksgiving event for her supporters.
But in her entire speech, she did not mention the name of her rival, Marcos Jr.
(Eagle News Service)