MANILA — Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said Wednesday that he and the Magdalo group have accepted defeat in the May 2022 polls.

"Hindi man pabor sa amin ang resulta, pero ramdam namin na buhay na buhay ang diwa ng Demokrasya sa ating bansa. Pinili ng mga Pilipino ang mga gusto nilang maging leader ng ating bansa," Trillanes said in a series of tweets.

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(The results may not be in our favor, but we feel that the spirit of democracy in our country is alive. Filipinos have decided who they want to lead the nation.)

Based on the partial and unofficial tally, Trillanes is a distant 21st place in the senatorial race, with more than 8.5 million votes as of 1:38 p.m. Wednesday.

He has failed to make it to the Senate "Magic 12," but his ally Risa Hontiveros is so far clinching a spot.

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The Magdalo party-list group, which is being represented by Manuel Cabochan III, is in 88th place, garnering 115,478 votes, or 0.32 percent of the total votes in the party-list race so far.

A party-list group that secures at least 2 percent of the total votes in its race is entitled to at least 1 slot in the House of Representatives during the first round of seat allocation.

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In 2003, Trillanes and some 300 other soldiers stormed the Oakwood Premier hotel in the heart of the Makati Central Business District in a bid to oust former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The group, dubbed as Magdalo due to their red armbands that bore the symbol of the Katipunan faction that bore the same name, had decried massive corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines' procurement system and poor medical services for soldiers under Arroyo's rule.

• Why Trillanes keeps armband from his past Magdalo life

Trillanes, a staunch critic of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, thanked those who supported them when they first went public nearly 19 years ago.

"Patuloy kami na maninilbihan para makatulong sa pag-unlad at pagbabago na hinahangad ng ating mga kababayan," the former lawmaker also said.

(We will continue to serve to contribute to the progress and change that we seek for our compatriots.)

• Magdalo on ‘mission mode’ to help Robredo win: Trillanes

"It may have been the most emotional campaign in our history, but it still turned out to be the most peaceful," Trillanes added.

In the end, he said, despite differing opinions, "we're all still Filipinos."

Trillanes ran under the Senate slate of presidential candidate Leni Robredo, who has received 14,809,935 votes based on the partial and unofficial tally.

This places her on second place to presidential frontrunner Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who has received 31,079,568 votes as of Wednesday, according to the same tally.

—with a report from Katrina Domingo and Michael Delizo, ABS-CBN News

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