Poe tells mom: I’m OK

Sen. Grace Poe on Wednesday phoned her mother, veteran actress Susan Roces, to assure her that she was okay amid continued attacks against her over her citizenship.

“[T]umawag ako para magpasalamat at sabihin sa kanya na okay lang ako, na huwag siyang mag-alala masyado (I called to thank her and tell her that I’m okay, that she shouldn’t worry too much),” Poe said.

“Sabi ko at least malumanay pa rin naman siya. Malaking bagay iyon kasi lahat kami pag medyo tumatapang na pati kami napapailag rin. Pero okay naman (At least she’s calmed down. That’s a big thing because when she gets feisty we are all taken aback. But it’s all good),” she added.

An emotional Roces on Tuesday slammed her daughter’s detractors for saying the senator could not be presumed a natural-born Filipino since she was a foundling.

“How dare they! Wala silang karapatang duru-duruin ang anak ko at sabihing hindi (Filipino) citizen ang anak ko (They don’t have the right to bully my daughter and say she is not a Filipino citizen),” Roces said.

READ: Susan Roces: Don’t bully my daughter Grace!

But even if her mother came to her defense, Poe said the attacks against her would not stop.

She said her mother made the remark not to criticize or stop the attacks of her detractors.

“[B]ilang nanay, hindi mo mapipigilan na depensahan ang anak mo. Ito ay isang natural lamang na bagay (As a mother, you can’t help but defend your child. This is a natural thing),” Poe said.

Poe said her mother was “very emotional” that was why she had been avoiding going out.

“Kaya nga iniiwasan din niya ang masyadong paglabas kasi very emotional. Pero I appreciate it, kasi iba ’pag ang nanay mo ang nagsalita (That’s why she’s trying not to go out as much as possible because she is very emotional. But I appreciate it, because it’s really different if it’s your mother talking),” the senator said. Maila Ager/RC