An independent presidential candidate Monday conceded the race to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as she continued to lead in the unofficial and partial votes count.

Former senator and education secretary Raul Roco said in a statement that he congratulated the president for "the mandate shehas received from the people as indicated by published results."

As of 4 p. m. Monday, Arroyo continued to pull away in the presidential race with 4,438,541 votes over closest rival Fernado Poe Jr. who had 3,132,345 based on the partial unofficial quick count of the National Citizen's Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) covering 65,900 precincts or 30.46 percent of the total 216,382 precincts nationwide.

Roco, Lawyer, 62, was listed as the last one with only 536,775 votes according to the Namfrel quick count.

However, as Roco said, the mandate is weakened by widespread vote buying. "The economic effects of such cynical misuse of public or private funds will be the burden of the incoming government."

Roco said that he and his party will continue to be vigilant onreports of election fraud.

"The electoral fraud will be demonstrated and supported with adequate evidence in due course," he added.

Roco, Alyansa ng Pag-asa presidential candidate, said that he plans to live a private life, concentrate on his job as a lawyer and help the government's nation-building programs.

On Roco's statement, presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said that the president appreciates "the most gentlemanly gesture of Secretary Roco and wishes that all other similarly situated candidates, whether for President or for other positions, would emulate him."

"The sooner we can leave the highly partisan atmosphere of the elections behind, the sooner we can move on with our task of nation-building," he added.

Source: Xinhua