Aquino, the son of revered democracy hero figures, had secured just over 40 per cent of the 30.4 million votes counted, the Commission on Elections said. His nearest rival, former president Joseph Estrada, was well behind with 25.4 per cent, or 4.48 million fewer votes, according to the commission's figures.
The commission earlier said about 75 per cent of the 50 million eligible voters turned out during yesterday's elections, meaning Aquino had a virtually insurmountable lead.
Updated figures were expected to be released throughout the day. The Philippines used computers to count ballots for the first time in yesterday's election, transforming the tallying procedure from one that took a few weeks under the previous manual system.