Family won’t pursue case vs poll fraud perpetrators, says Poe daughter

MANILA, Philippines – The family of late actor Fernando Poe Jr. will not pursue a case against the alleged perpetrators of the poll fraud that occurred during the 2004 elections in which the actor was a presidential candidate, the daughter of Poe told 990AM in an interview Friday.

“Because this is a criminal offense, my family need not file a case. It is up to the courts and this government to do that,” Grace Poe-Llamanzares, chairman of the Movie and Televsion Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), said in Filipino.

Llamanzares said the crime was committed “not only against FPJ [Poe’s monicker] but against all those who voted for him.”

Llamanzares said she and her mother and actress Susan Roces were “thankful” for the expose of Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago and assured him and his team that replaced the original election returns (ERs) with fakes of their “moral support.”

Llamanzares issued the statement after Santiago and his men apologized to the nation and Roces earlier on Friday for being part of the cheating that may have robbed Poe of the presidency.

The police officer linked then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the alleged fraud, which ensured her win over Poe, her closest rival.

Poe died in December 2004, which resulted in the dismissal of an election protest filed by his wife before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).

When asked what her family felt after Santiago’s confession, Llamanzares said they have waited for this for a long time and described the feeling as “bittersweet.”