Erice links Binay camp to moves to discredit Poe

 Video by Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net

Caloocan Representative Edgar Erice on Wednesday linked the camp of Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay to efforts to discredit Senator Grace Poe.

In a press conference at the Liberal Party headquarters in Cubao, Erice said former-Representative Jacinto “Jing” Paras called him up and asked that he join efforts to question Poe’s citizenship for being a foundling.

Erice said Paras could be coordinating with Rizalito David who has filed disqualification cases against Poe before the Commission on Elections and the Senate Electoral Tribunal over her citizenship.

“Wala siyang binanggit na Atty. David. Ang sinasabi lang niya we should join a concerted effort to disqualify Senator Poe,” Erice said.

“I think (Paras) is in the camp of Vice President Binay,” he added.

When asked if he can explicitly say that Binay is behind the moves to discredit Poe, he said: “I don’t want to point fingers (because) I don’t have evidence.”

Erice spoke amid rumors that the LP was behind moves to disqualify Poe. He said such rumors were meant to derail talks aimed at getting Poe as the running mate of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

“As far as the LP leadership is concerned, wala kaming duda na Senator Poe is a natural-born citizen,” (We don’t doubt that Senator Poe is a natural-born citizen) Erice said.

In an interview on August 17, Poe confirmed that Roxas visited her at her home in San Juan City the previous night and asked her to be his running mate.

Before that, Roxas also made an appeal to Poe on national television for her to be his vice president.

“I told [him] he had many potential vice presidential candidates to choose from,” Poe said.

Poe is a foundling because she was abandoned in a church in Jaro, Iloilo, before she was adopted by action star Fernando Poe Jr. and actress Susan Roces.

Poe has been the target of politicians since she topped the presidential and vice presidential voters preference polls. Marc Jayson Cayabyab