ROXAS CONFIDENT OF POLL WIN, CALLS FOR RESPECT
OF ELECTORAL PROCESS

Liberal Party vice-presidential candidate Senator Mar Roxas today declared he will continue the fight to get the final vote counted as he insisted his bailiwick votes would give him victory in last Monday's elections over his rival Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.

Roxas also congratulated his standard bearer Senator Benigno S. Aquino III for his landslide victory, and expressed hope he would soon call him "Mr. President-elect" as soon as the winners in the May 10 elections are proclaimed.

Urging his supporters and the entire Filipino people to trust the democratic system, Roxas urged his supporters to remain calm and await the final results of the elections but said he is confident he won the elections.

In a press conference after attending a Mass celebrating his 53rd birthday in the LP headquarters in Cubao, Quezon City, Roxas expressed confidence votes that remain untabulated from his bailiwicks in Regions 6, 7 and 8 will eventually give him victory in the May 10 elections.

"Mataas ang aking kumpiyansa, at matatag ang aking paniniwala, na sa pagtatapos ng bilangan, tayo po ang mangunguna. Tabla ang numero sa lahat ng exit polls at nasa anim na milyong boto pa po ang hindi nabibilang (I have high confidence and I firmly believe that at the end of the counting, I will be then winner. The exit polls show a tie in the numbers and six million votes remain uncounted so far)," Roxas declared.

Brushing aside accusations from the camp of Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay that the LP is involved in efforts to rig the results, Roxas laughed this off as contrary to what he and Aquino has campaigned for and insisted this was a product of a black propaganda campaign aimed at conditioning public mind against his eventual victory.

Paying tribute to the peaceful and orderly conduct of last Monday's elections as a basic element of the country's democratic system, Roxas declared it was his obligation not only to his supporters but to the nation to make sure the last vote in last Monday's elections are counted.

"Malinaw sa akin -- obligasyon ko sa bawat mamamayang Pilipino na ipagpatuloy ang ating laban hanggang mabilang ang pinakahuling boto. Hangga't hindi tapos ang bilangan, tuloy na tuloy ang ating laban (It's clear to me that it's my obligation to every Filipino to pursue the fight till the last vote is counted. Until then, the contest does not end)," Roxas said.