MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Congress proclaimed Benigno Aquino III the country's new president Wednesday amid high hopes he will fulfill his campaign promise to eliminate corruption and poverty and restore trust in government.
A joint session by the Senate and House of Representatives voted to formalize the landslide victory of the son of the country's revered democracy icons after the Philippines' first national automated elections last month.
Aquino will take his oath as the country's 15th president on June 30, succeeding Gloria Macapagal Arroyo whose nine-year rule has been wracked by four coup attempts by mutinous troops, and opposition impeachment bids over allegations of election fraud, corruption scandals and human rights abuses.
The official congressional count ended Tuesday showing Aquino defeating his eight rivals by more than 15 million votes _ about 5.7 million ahead of his closest opponent, ousted leader Joseph Estrada.
Estrada's running mate, Jejomar Binay, the mayor of Manila's financial district Makati, will become vice president after defeating Aquino's candidate, Manuel Roxas II, in the separate race for the number two position.
Supporters of Aquino and Binay who packed the House gallery erupted into loud cheers and applause after the announcements.
Aquino, a quiet legislator who served nine years as a congressman and three years as senator, will inherit a nation grappling with poverty and debilitated by decades-long Marxist and Muslim insurgencies, military unrest, corruption, violent crime and political strife.
The 50-year-old bachelor campaigned largely on a family name and promised to follow the legacy of his parents, who are regarded as heroes in the country's democratic struggle against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.
