Binay on Poe as foe: Bring it on

Vice President Jejomar Binay: Political ambition over friendship. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–He would go to the extent of disregarding friendships if they would pose a hindrance to his presidential ambition.

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Monday said he would have no qualms about running against Sen. Grace Poe if she decides to seek the presidency in 2016, even if he was close to the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., the senator’s father.

Binay made this clear in interviews over two broadcast stations on Monday, two days after the 10th death anniversary of Poe, who had run for president in 2004 but lost.

In his interviews over dzRH and TV5, Binay said he saw Senator Poe and Poe’s widow, actress Susan Roces, last Saturday at the commemoration of the action star’s death anniversary.

Saying that not many people knew about this, Binay revealed that he was with Poe on the night he collapsed and suffered a massive stroke which led to his death two days later. Binay said it was his car that was used to bring Poe to the hospital.

Poe had invited him to a Christmas party that the latter was hosting for close friends, Binay said.

“I was his campaign manager. I was with him after the election and until he had a stroke,” Binay said.

Godfather to son

Binay said he was also close to Senator Poe since he was godfather to her son.

Asked if he would still run for president should Grace decide to run, Binay replied in the affirmative.

“I will still push ahead with my candidacy whoever my opponent will be,” he said.

Asked if he and Grace had talked about the 2016 presidential election, he said they had never discussed it.

“We could say for lack of a better word, we were shy (to talk about it),” Binay said.

Poe said there was no tension between her and Binay. But she noted that during the 2013 election when she ran for senator, she ran under a different coalition, which was why there were many things the two of them did not discuss.

They talk about things they are both familiar with, but politics is not one of them.

Poe, however, said that Binay had nothing to worry about, adding that the latter was a strong contender and was in a better position than whomever he would face. “Those who would want to face him are the ones who have to prepare,” she said.

Poe said she was not ready to face Binay, who continues to top voter preference surveys although his ratings have dropped while Poe’s numbers improved.

“I am not ready. That is why I am not saying I am certain, because I still need to think about it,” Poe told reporters.

Asked if she would change her mind about running if she were to rank first in the surveys, Poe said it would depend on when the survey would be done.

“Even if I top the surveys tomorrow, that does not mean anybody could be certain of winning. So for me, until I can tell myself that I am ready, I should not enter the race,” she said.

While she was flattered by her improving showing in surveys, she said these were fickle.

There are many problems to focus on, she said, and reiterated that she still had a lot to do and prove.

In case she runs against Binay, Poe has been assured of the support of her godfather, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, one of the cofounders of the United Nationalist Coalition (UNA) together with Binay.

Poe said she was surprised and grateful for the support of her godfather, but she said he might not need to give it.

According to Poe, she had not expected Estrada’s statement of support for her, since, despite the close ties between Estrada and her late father, she knew there were political decisions where personal ties should be set aside.

‘Thank you for the love’

She was asked to comment on reports that Estrada would choose to support her over Binay, who is also his close friend, should both contend for the presidency in 2016.

Estrada had made the remarks to Inquirer columnist Neal Cruz.

“I have no plans of running. But thank you for the love. That said, I don’t think that would be a problem as of now because I have not announced anything. And I don’t want him to be forced into anything,” she told reporters.

But Poe said she hoped that anybody who would show their support would do so because of what she can do, not because of any close ties.

“What I want, in case support would be given for anything, when it comes to service, it would not be because of personal ties but because of competence,” she said.

Estrada’s son, Sen. JV Ejercito, could not say whether he would remain with Binay should Poe decide to run for president.

“She said she has no intention of running [for president] so life is easy now. But if she announces that she plans to run, that would weigh heavily, we would have difficulty deciding,” Ejercito said.

He said he has close ties with both Binay and Poe.

But he said that as of now, with Poe not officially entering the race, Binay was still the standard bearer of the opposition.

As for Estrada’s position, Ejercito said his father could not just forget his close ties to Fernando Poe Jr.

“He owes a lot to FPJ ever since he started as an actor, since he started his political career and became president,” he said.