Poe praises Aquino as ‘sincere’ but …

Sen. Grace Poe. JOAN BONDOC/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY — Senator Grace Poe praised President Benigno Aquino III on Monday but added that things needed to be done faster.

“Maraming nagawa ang Pangulo. Tapat siya,” (The President has done a lot. He is sincere) Poe said of President Benigno Aquino III.

She added however that these might not be enough.

“Marami pang dapat gawin at dapat bilis-bilisan natin,” (A lot has still to be done and fast) Poe stressed.

She added, “Hindi pwede na matalino ka, masyado kang magaling pero hindi mo maimplementa.” (It’s not enough to be intelligent or be very skillful when you cannot implement projects).”

The senator spoke over radio dyAB when she attended the intramurals of the University of San Carlos main campus Monday morning. She was set to dialog with student leaders later.

Poe was in Cebu at the same time as Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Vice President Jejomar Binay. The three are the top probable contenders for president in next year’s election.

Roxas was at the Cebu Normal University at 9:30 a.m. to attend the “Daang Matuwid People’s Dialog.”

He was joined by Secretaries Butch Abad of Budget, Dinky Soliman of Social Welfare and Janette Garin of Health.

Roxas, the Liberal Party’s declared standard bearer, was set to join Aquino for the “Gathering of Friends” at the Cebu Coliseum in downtown Cebu City organized by LP allies.

Among those expected to attend are LP members from the Visayas and Mindanao.

Binay, who arrived in Cebu on Sunday, was scheduled to visit the cities of Talisay and Toledo in south Cebu.

In an interview over dyAB, Roxas said that he was still waiting for Poe to accept his invitation to be his running mate.

Roxas said he planned to formally announce his running mate before end of September in preparation for the filing of the certificate of candidacy set for October 12 to 16.

“One of the most important decisions of a standard bearer whether for president, governor or mayor ay ang pagpili ng ka tandem (is to choose a tandem),” said Roxas.

He added such a choice “is reflective of the character of the presidential candidate that is why we are taking serious considerations.”

Interviewed after Roxas, Poe reiterated her earlier statement that the secretary didn’t have to wait for her.

“Hindi nila ako kailangan hintayin (They don’t have to wait for me),” said Poe.

She maintained that she was still conducting her consultations on whether or not to run for president in 2016.

“Hindi naman sa pagbitin sa ating mga kababayan but soon (I will be making my announcement),” she said.

During the interview, Poe appealed for the “intelligent support” of Cebuano voters. She was number three senator in Cebu in the 2013 election.

Poe assured Cebuanos that she would be making her decision soon while admitting that it would not come easy.

She explained that it also took her a while to decide to run for senator in the 2013 election despite prodding from her father’s supporters.