Speaker’s nephew clarifies ‘Poe unstoppable’ statement

THE nephew of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. clarified the statement of his uncle about Senator Grace Poe being “unstoppable” in the 2016 elections, saying it does not mean the Speaker is choosing the neophyte senator over Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

In an ambush interview on Tuesday, Quezon City Representative Jose Christopher “Kit” Belmonte said the Speaker’s statement was only meant to awaken the ruling Liberal Party (LP) to do its best in boosting the ratings of Roxas, the LP’s presumed presidential bet.

Speaker Belmonte said in the Inquirer report: “All his (President Aquino’s) candidates, particularly Mar, are qualified and will give effective, honest government that will make a difference. But Mar should prove his ‘winnability,’ by a dramatic increase in ratings… Otherwise, Grace will be another P-Noy, unstoppable.”

“Kung gusto mong maging Presidente si Secretary Mar, magtrabaho kayo. Personal opinion ko yun. Hindi niya ibig sabihin, wala nang mangyayari kay Mar. At this point, kung walang nagtatrabaho at this point, unstoppable talaga si Poe…,” the younger Belmonte said.

Roxas had fared poorly in third or fourth place in the latest voters’ preference polls, while Poe overtook Vice President Jejomar Binay as preferred presidential candidate. Binay held the top post in the Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations survey for nine months.

The younger Belmonte said the Speaker did not openly say he supports Poe, a neophyte senator who topped the 2013 elections, over Roxas, a seasoned Cabinet official and lawmaker who gave way to then senator Benigno Aquino III for president in 2010.

He said the Speaker cannot openly say he supports Poe because he has to lead the entire administration coalition in the House composed of different political parties.

“Siya ang Speaker of the House. The House is a coalition; it’s run by so many parties. And he’s the leader of the LP… hindi gagawin ni Speaker na, ‘Poe ako.’ He has to lead the House together,” Belmonte said.

The younger Belmonte also denied the Inquirer report that a bloc led by Belmonte would bolt the LP if it supports a candidate who has no chances of winning in 2016. Speaker Belmonte is vice chair of LP.

He said Speaker Belmonte is not a political butterfly. The elder Belmonte was a stalwart of Gloria Arroyo’s Lakas-CMD before he defected to the ruling LP to support Aquino in the 2010 elections.

“That doesn’t mean, dahil nangyari na yun before, [mangyayari uli]. Iba ang circumstances before. Iba yung Cory factor… Walang kinalaman sa winnability,” Belmonte said.

He noted though that it is usual in politics that politicians defect to the ruling party of the next administration for survival.

But he said that is not a habit for his uncle Speaker Belmonte.

“Yan yung sinasabing traditional politics na tatakbo ka sa malakas para makasiguradong protektado ka. I think hindi ganun si Speaker, and a lot of politicians and leaders, hindi ganun,” Belmonte said.