LP on waiting for Poe decision: There’s no forever
WAITING FOR GRACE Sen. Grace Poe has yet to respond to the Liberal Party’s outstanding offer to be the running mate of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas in the 2016 elections. The front-runner in surveys on voters’ preference for the country’s next President, Poe has yet to declare whether she will run for President or Vice President. She was the keynote speaker at the International Youth Day celebration in Quezon City on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015. JOAN BONDOC
Unlike the ’80s pop group Air Supply’s song, the Liberal Party-led administration coalition can’t wait forever.
If Sen. Grace Poe won’t be there soon, the coalition will get somebody else as the running mate for its standard-bearer, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, in next year’s presidential election.
“Just for the record, just for the record, and I will say this with all the love, because it is true, there is no forever,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said at a press briefing in Malacañang on Wednesday.
Lacierda was asked how the administration would reply to a statement of former Rep. Erin Tañada, a Liberal Party (LP) member, that the coalition could not wait forever for Poe to decide.
Poe, the front-runner in the presidential preference polls, says she has not decided whether to run for higher office next year, but it is believed she will make an independent run for President with Sen. Francis Escudero as her running mate.
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Still hoping
Lacierda said the administration coalition was still hoping Poe would consider running with Roxas.
“It is something we would certainly hope for that Grace Poe would consider, but of course, at some point—and that point is something I cannot answer you—but certainly we will arrive at that point whether she accepts or not,” Lacierda said.
He was also asked if Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo could be the “second best bet” for the administration coalition if Poe really would not come aboard.
Friends and colleagues of Robredo’s late husband, former Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, launched the Leni Robredo for Vice President Movement on Wednesday.
Roxas welcomed the launch of the movement, but said the administration coalition still wanted Poe to be his running mate.
“It’s a good development,” Roxas told reporters in Cebu City. “I congratulate those who launched the movement. I admire Congresswoman Robredo. Many people admire her capabilities and unblemished record.”
P-Noy still for Poe
But when asked whether the swell of support for Robredo could affect the LP’s decision to wait for Poe, Roxas said: “We don’t easily change our stand. We still have an outstanding invitation to Senator Poe. This is the current position and view of the President, the party and even myself.”
Asked if he had set a date for a meeting with Poe, Roxas replied, “The date today is Aug. 12.”
Roxas defended Poe from questions about her citizenship, saying he believes she is a Filipino.
“I believe Senator Poe is a Filipino. That’s why I invited her to be my running mate. It’s up to the UNA (the opposition United Nationalist Alliance) to do what they want. There are processes to determine Senator Poe’s citizenship,” Roxas said.
Lacierda acknowledged that there were people who felt there were other candidates for Vice President that the administration should consider.
“We are still hoping that Sen. Grace Poe will look into (it) and consider [running] with Mar Roxas. So we have nothing to say anything beyond that,” he added.
Untainted
Lacierda reiterated the administration’s emphasis on the continuity of its reform program in choosing a running mate for Roxas.
He also defended Roxas from allegations that the Cabinet secretary could be using government funds for his political advertisements, particularly television and radio ads that began airing shortly after President Aquino endorsed Roxas’ presidential bid on July 31.
Lacierda said Roxas had never been tainted with corruption allegations.
“In his 20 years of public service, he has never been tainted with corruption. He has always maintained his integrity. That’s also the statement of the President in his endorsement speech, and nobody has ever questioned him on his integrity, nobody has ever questioned him on his experience,” Lacierda said.–With reports from Marlon Ramos in Manila; and Carmel Loise Matus and Carla P. Gomez, Inquirer Visayas
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