Arroyo only "joking" when she claimed she was cheated in 04 polls

From the Tribune:

Malacañang yesterday defended President Arroyo, saying the Chief Executive was only joking when she said contrary to popular belief, it was she who was cheated in last year's presidential elections.

But no one seems to be laughing.

Wags, however, commented: Is this “joke” now an admission that it is Gloria who cheated?

Press Secretary and concurrent presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said “The President was just joking...because in the dzRH (exit) surveys (done right after the election in May 11) she should have won by a bigger margin — 8 percent I believe, coming from a popular survey, but her actual margin was only 3 percent. But, our President was just joking.”

In a radio interview over dzRH, the President was earlier quoted as saying, “I am happy for dzRH because they have done an exit survey in last year's election. Right after the election, the exit survey of dzRH said I won by 8 percent. Although, I won only finally, by three percent. So, it means...it means that I may have been the one victimized by cheating here. So, in other words, whatever is the percentage, of all the exit surveys, it was I who really won. That's why I am the President and I stand by that,” she said in Visayan.