Benigno Aquino all set to become Philippine president

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) said that as of early Tuesday, with almost 80 percent of votes counted, Aquino stood at 40 percent. Former President Joseph Estrada was in second place with only 25 percent.

Markets reacted positively to the prospect of political stability. The stock market in Manila gained 3.85 percent on Tuesday, as opposed to the trend in other Asian countries.

There had been problems with the new automated vote counting machines, thus causing the polling stations to stay open an hour longer on Monday. But in the end, many Filipinos were positively surprised about the new system's quick delivery of results. According to COMELEC, there was a turnout of 75 percent.

A famous political dynasty

The 50-year-old Senator Benigno ("Noynoy") Aquino has little administrative experience and came into the public eye because of the fate of his parents. His father Benigno, a democracy activist, was killed under the Ferdinand Marcos regime in 1983. His mother Corazon ("Cory") then went on to lead the democracy movement against Marcos with the slogan "People's Power" and became president. After her death last summer, a wave of sympathy for the family motivated her son to run for president himself.

Aquino campaigned with promises of clean government and apparently managed to attract voters eager for change after the unpopular presidency of Gloria Arroyo.

tb/Reuters/AP/AFP/dpa
Editor: Disha Uppal