MALACAÑANG on Wednesday said the administration will not release any information that would shame Senator Grace Poe.
“It does not do us any good, and it is important for us that Grace Poe be part of our team, as part of the generational change that the President wants for the country,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing.
“Senator Grace Poe and this administration know where that is coming from, and it definitely is not coming from this administration,” he said of those wanting to discredit the senator.
Roxas was recently endorsed by President Benigno Aquino III as standard-bearer of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) while Poe has yet to announce her plans for the 2016 elections. She, together with Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, has been considering running for higher office as an independent candidate.
On Wednesday morning, however, Roxas urged Poe to join him and run as his vice president.
This is the reason why the Aquino administration will not aim to tarnish the reputation of Poe, Lacierda said.
“Obviously, you all know that President Aquino and even Secretary Mar Roxas would prefer Grace Poe to be the vice presidential candidate,” he explained.
The Secretary added that Aquino is a “statesman who thinks of this generation and the next.”
“The President thinks of the generation. Why have two members of the same cause compete against each other?” he said.
“The President believes that she’s an important cog in the ‘daang matuwid’ coalition,” Lacierda said of Poe.
Asked where the criticisms against Poe were coming from, Lacierda answered with another set of questions, “Who will benefit if the Senator is disqualified? Who has always said that Senator Grace Poe has a problem with her citizenship or residency?”
Earlier, the Binay-led United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) questioned the residency status of Poe, who relocated to the United States where she finished her studies and worked.