Grace Poe on residency issue: My conscience is clear

Senator Grace Poe. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senator Grace Poe said she would not go to the extent of fooling people about her residency just to get elected to a higher post in 2016.

Poe made the remark when asked in an interview about an alleged operation to discredit her possible presidential run next year by questioning her qualifications to run in office.

It was Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco, interim president of the United Nationalist Alliance, who first questioned Poe’s qualifications to run for president in 2016, saying she was short of the 10-year residency requirement as provided for in the Constitution.

READ: Grace Poe lacks residency, not qualified to run for president or VP – solon

But Poe assured the public on Thursday that she’s faithful to the people and that she would not lie just to get elected to a higher post.

“’Yung sinasabi pong residency, maaari pong hindi malinaw doon sa COC (certificate of residency) sapagkat iba nga po ‘yung wording nila. Pero kung bibilangin po ninyo ang pisikal na pagiging dito ko sa bayan natin, nanganak po ako dito noong 2004, namalagi at bumili ng tirahan, nagtrabaho kasama ng aking mga magulang at kasama ninyo,” she said.

(About the residency issue, maybe it’s not clear in the COC because the wordings there were different. But when you count my physical presence here in the country, I gave birth in 2004, I stayed and bought a house here, and worked with my parents.)

The senator pointed out that since 2015, she was already visible to the public as she was joining street protests against the Arroyo administration, and granting interviews with the media.

“At kung sila po ay nagsampa ng kaso handa naman po kami sa lahat ng dokumento, kaya nga ako mismo nag-eexplain nito ito ay hindi naman pagnanakaw sa bayan o pagiging kulang sa aking trabaho. Ito po ay isang atake sa ating pagkatao, kaya ako mismo ang sumasagot nito,”said Poe.

(And if they are going to file a case in court, we are ready with our documents; that’s why I’m the one personally explaining this because the issue is not about stealing money from the government or being remiss with my work. This is a personal attack that’s why I’m answering this myself.)

READ: Grace Poe’s residency

“At kayo po ay makakaasa na hindi ko po kayo niloloko kung para dito lamang. Sapagkat hindi ko po inaambisyon ang ganitong uri ng posisyon at gagawin ko ang lahat para lamang makamit iyan. Hindi po kaya ng konsensiya ko ang manloko para lamang tumakbo sa mas mataas na posisyon,” she added.

(And you can count on me that I am not deceiving you because of this. Because I am not going to that extent just to get to that position. My conscience cannot bear deceiving others just so I can run for higher office.) IDL