PERHAPS the surrogates of Vice President Jejomar Binay are scratching their heads over how their tactic of aggressively probing Senator Grace Poe’s nationality and qualifications to run for President in 2014 have boomeranged against them.
They were, after all, doing the Filipino people a service to help them make the intelligent choice come May 2016, right?
Perhaps they were thinking these issues were supposed to cast a doubt in the minds of people about Poe’s sincerity and cast her as a neophyte who does not follow the rule of law for political expediency.
But how come her star even shone brighter and even won more compassion among people who deemed her as “inaapi” just because she was a “foundling” who does not even know who her real parents are? How come the leaders of other political parties like DILG Sec. Mar Roxas and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada even supported and defended Poe and some criticized the Binay camp?
And the worst: even their own boss VP Binay washed his hands and told Poe he was not behind this questioning of Poe’s nationality and qualifications!
Unfortunately for the Binay camp, their probing about Poe’s origins has lead news organizations and writers like ABS-CBN News to investigate about her past. Cameras took pictures of the church were baby Grace was supposed to have been abandoned, interviewed people who knew about how she was found right there by the church door in Jaro, Iloilo 46 years ago.
ABS-CBN News Correspondent Gigi Grande reported on the woman Sayong’s account that she was the one found Baby Grace and took care of her until she was legally adopted by Movie King and Queen Fernando Poe Jr.Another Filipino in Canada contacted ABS-CBN News to give another version — that it was her father Edgardo Militar who found Grace in the church, took care of the baby for a while and turned her over to Sayong who took care of Grace until the baby was adopted by FPJ and Susan Roces.
The continuing saga about Grace Poe’s origin has been followed by many kababayans like they would follow teleseryes. The plot thickened when there were suggestions that perhaps Militar was Grace’s real biological father. And what about the urban legend that the late President Ferdinand Marcos was her real father with Susan Roces’ sister, 60s actress Rosemarie Sonora? To these, Sen. Grace Poe said she would be willing to take DNA tests to really find out the truth.
But Poe insists she is qualified to run for President in 2016 because she is a natural-born Filipino. She also refuted the argument of the Binay Camp that she has not met the residency requirement of at least 10 years immediately preceding the election year, saying she has returned to the Philippines with intent to stay since 2005, which means she would have been residing in the country for more than ten years come May 2016.
“Sa totoo lang, bakit kayo natatakot sa akin? Kung sinabi man na kayo ay hindi natatakot sa akin, hindi po ito ang kilos ng hindi nababantaan,” Poe said.
“Kahit papa’no, sinasabi nila na hindi daw nila ginawa ito bilang paghihiganti. Pero parang ang timing naman nila kung kelan ako pumirma ng committee report [recommending to file plunder charges against Vice President Jejomar Binay.]….Kung kailan sinabi ko na dapat humarap sila at magsalita, ilalabas nila itong issue na ito?” Poe added.
Would she run for President in 2016?
“Ito na lang po ang masasabi ko: Kung ang mga ganyang klaseng tao ang iuupo natin, sa tingin ko ay paurong ang magiging takbo ng ating bayan,” Poe lamented.
“Aaminin ko na ngayon na nangyayari lahat ito, mas napapadalas ang isip dito at pagpaplano. Basta po kung lalabas ako, sabi nga nila, ilang percent na ba ang iyong desisyon? Sa tingin ko mga 50 percent at mas lalo pa nilang tinutulak na mapalapit sa 100 percent,” Poe admitted.
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
