Benigno Aquino III has won the Philippine Presidential race, defeating his rivals by a wide margin. Aquino, nicknamed "Noynoy," is the son of the former president and Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., who was assassinated in 1983 as he returned from exile to lead opposition to Cold War-era Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
Corazon Aquino, who died in August, took over the leadership of her husband's movement and became the country's first female president in 1986.
With nearly 79 percent of the votes counted, Aquino surpassed his nearest challenger, former president Joseph Estrada, by more than 4.5 million votes out of the 30 million counted, according to figures from the national Commission on Elections. Two other candidates -- Sen. Manny Villar Jr. and Gilberto Teodoro -- ran far behind.
On Tuesday Villar conceded to Aquino in a live press conference aired on local TV. In all, nine candidates were running for the presidency. Villar is known throughout the billiards community as a billiards supporter and sponsor. The "Villar Cup" was contested last year.
