Is Joseph ERAP Estrada finally giving up?

The spokesperson of former President Joseph Estrada said his camp is not keen on filing any formal protest before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal should presidential front-runner Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III be proclaimed.

Estrada is currently in second place in the presidential race with 9,125,823 votes, trailing Aquino with 14,641,083 as of the latest tally of Congress Thursday night.

“President Estrada is no longer inclined to file any protest. He will respect whatever final outcome is pronounced by the Joint Canvassing Committee in Congress,” said Estrada’s spokesperson Margaux Salcedo in an interview over ANC.

However, she added that they will continue to study reports of electoral fraud across the country, as well as electronic results even as these do not tally with their own records.

Salcedo also clarified the former President will not concede prior to the conclusion of the canvassing.

Estrada was earlier reported to have offered his services to Aquino.

“Should Senator Aquino be proclaimed the next president, President Estrada will take on the role of elderly statesman and would be glad to work with the next administration to pursue his unfinished pro-poor programs.

However, he will wait until the proclamation is made by Congress before engaging in any talks with Senator Aquino,” Salcedo explained.

She added Estrada and Aquino can “very well work together” as they are both from the opposition.

“In her final days, President Estrada also became very close to President Cory Aquino, especially after her public apology which meant a lot to him, so it will be easy for President Erap to support Senator Aquino in whatever capacity if and when he is proclaimed,” said Salcedo.

Even as the canvassing of votes has yet to be concluded, Estrada left for London Thursday morning to attend the graduation rites of one of his daughters.

Rumors earlier circulated that Estrada was junked by his running mate former Makati mayor Jejomar Binay, who continues to lead the vice presidential race by a slim margin over Sen. Manuel Roxas II.

Both Estrada’s and Binay’s camps have dismissed the allegations