I respect Drilon’s statement, says Grace Poe

Senate President Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senator Grace Poe shrugged off on Tuesday a colleague’s statement that the Liberal Party (LP) should start looking for another running mate of the party’s standard-bearer, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

“Well I respect that. After all, I’m not a member of the LP. It’s their prerogative to decide on those matters,” Poe said in an interview, when sought to react to Senate President Franklin Drilon’s statement last week.

Drilon, vice chair of LP, said the party should stop pursuing the lady senator to become Roxas’ running mate since it was already clear that she would run for president next year.

“In my view, Grace Poe is already a candidate for President. So, you know, the writing is on the wall. She will run,” Drilon told reporters on Friday.

Though she has been going around the country, Poe has yet to publicly declare whether or not she would run for the highest post next year.

Asked if Roxas mentioned about Drilon’s remarks when they met with Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle Monday night, Poe said, “No. He (Roxas) did not mention anything about politics.”

Roxas had asked Poe to be his running mate in 2016.