Jakarta. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr recently congratulated Prabowo Subianto on his presidential victory in the latest count, saying that he is looking forward to bolstering ties between the two countries.

Known popularly as Bongbong Marcos, the president sent a congratulatory message on the social media platform X on Tuesday night.

“My warmest congratulations to Defense Minister @prabowo on his commanding lead in the latest electoral count to be Indonesia's next president,” he wrote on his official account @bongbongmarcos.

“I look forward to deepening PH's bilateral ties with Indonesia, a close neighbor and partner in ASEAN, most especially as we celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations this year,” he added.

Prabowo replied to the post not long after. 

“Thank you Mr. President @bongbongmarcos! I am grateful and honored by your remarks,” Prabowo replied, adding that it would be a privilege to serve the people of Indonesia.

Likewise, Prabowo also looks forward to working with Marcos, and continuing “the strong friendship forged over the past 75 years between Indonesia and the Philippines.”

Marcos visited Jakarta last September to attend the ASEAN Summit when Indonesia presided over the Southeast Asian bloc. 

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo also visited Marcos in the Philippines early this year, during which both leaders had some trade talks, among others.

Government data shows Indonesia-Philippines trade dropped from $14.4 billion in 2022 to  $12.5 billion the following year. The Philippines has also purchased warships from the state-run shipbuilder PAL, as well as aircraft manufactured by the state-owned aerospace company Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI).

According to the latest real count of the ballots, Prabowo is in the lead by securing 58.77 percent of the votes as of Wednesday at 8 a.m. The data included votes from 73.34 percent of the total polling stations. Prabowo has picked Jokowi’s son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his running mate.

The General Election Commission (KPU) is scheduled to announce the official election results by March 20 at the latest.