Grace Poe: I was ‘galisin’ but Susan, FPJ loved me

Sen. Grace Poe. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senator Grace Poe said on Thursday that actress Susan Roces and the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) loved her despite being a foundling.

During the commemoration of the 76th birthday of FPJ at the Manila North Cemetery, Poe recalled that when she was found as a newborn baby at Jaro Church in Iloilo, she had scabies (“galis”) and her hair was curly.

“Alam nyo nung bata ako, kinikwento sa akin ng aking nanay na noong una ako dinala sa kanila, kulot-kulot daw talaga ang aking buhok at marami akong galis sa mukha,” Poe said.

(When I was a child, my mother told me that when I was brought to them, I had curly hair and that I had scabies on my face.)

She said that despite having scabies, her adoptive parents cherished her.

“Palagi akong nangangati, kumakamot, pero alam niyo imbes na pandirihan ako, kinupkop nila ako at inalagaan. At ganun din sila sa marami nating kababayan,” she added.

(I always scratched my skin but instead of being disgusted, they took care of me. And that is how they treat their fellow countrymen.)

Poe said that as she mulled on her plans for the 2016 elections, she was continuously guided by the life lessons which FPJ taught her.

The senator is facing charges before the Commission on Elections and the Senate Electoral Tribunal seeking to remove her from office over her citizenship. The charges claim that Poe is not a natural-born citizen and thus not eligible to sit in the Senate.

On Tuesday, Susan Roces lashed out against her daughter’s critics.

“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 by say­ing she is not a Filipino cit­i­zen),” Roces said.