Arroyo holds on to presidency.

Manila -- President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo won another term in office in May's election, according to a final count announced June 21, 2004. She ran on the ticket of the Lakas party. Her Vice-Presidential candidate Noli deCastro also won. In addition, the Lakas party took four of twelve Senatorial seats. The KNP took 5 seats, the Liberal Party 2, and the PRP one.

"People power" revolts ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and president Joseph Estrada in 2001. Ms. Arroyo took over midway through Mr. Estrada's six-year term and was seeking a mandate to continue economic and other changes.

The announcement of the tally from the May 10 vote followed a bitter six-week count by a committee of lawmakers. It was marred by opposition claims that Ms. Arroyo's camp cheated her opponent, action-film star Fernando Poe Jr., out of two million ballots.

The final tally had Ms. Arroyo with 12,905,808 votes and Mr. Poe with 11,782,232, a difference of 1,123,576. Three other candidates were well behind.

The editor of the Ottawa, Canada, Philippino paper Pinoy Eh!, Edwin Acuna, in his column "Philippine Elections 2004" observed:

   "It is embarrasing enough to note
   that only in the Philippines can you
   find an election where the winner of
   the top post of the land is not yet
   proclaimed over a month after the
   last vote was cast.

   "It is only in the Philippines where
   the national police still consider 120
   people killed and 209 injured in
   192 election-related cases as 'one of
   the most peaceful in the country's
   recent political history.' It is so simply
   because the previous election of
   2001 had 269 election-related incidents."

He continues:

   "In any case, the next President of
   the Philippines will be in a big bind
   to revive the sagging Philippine
   economy after the most expensive
   electoral exercise to date. This will
   be a Phyrric victory unless the eventual
   winner will be able to effect a
   sincere reconciliation with rivals.
   The losing candidates on the other
   hand should rise above their personal
   interests and concede defeat. It is
   called serving the country well."

(AP, Globe, Pinoy Eh!, June, 2004)