Sen. Grace Poe has said she will immediately vacate her post if she loses in the disqualification case filed against her over her citizenship.
Poe made the remark in Butuan on Friday when asked during a press conference what she would do in case she loses the legal battle, referring to the disqualification case filed against her in the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) by defeated senatorial candidate Rizalito David.
“Unang-una po, rerespetuhin natin ang batas. Kung mapatunayan nila na hindi ako karapat-dapat diyan dahil sa ating batas, mabilis pa sa alas-kwatro, iiwanan ko ang aking posisyon (First of all, we’ll respect the law. If it’s proven that I don’t deserve [to be in the Senate] because that’s what our law says, I will immediately vacate my post),” she said.
But the senator reiterated that she was not only fighting for her own right but also for many other children in the country who did not know their biological parents.
Poe was abandoned in a church in Iloilo City and adopted by the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., and wife, veteran actress, Susan Roces.
“If I lose (this battle), all of them will also have doubts about their nationality. I don’t think that’s fair, especially if we are confident that the law recognizes that a child abandoned [in the Philippines] is a Filipino,” she added in Filipino.
Poe, however, said she was not worried about the case, adding she would not hold on to her position if the SET or the Supreme Court ruled against her.
“I’m not worried because I’m not eager to hold on to that position,” she said.
Poe said it was already a privilege that she got elected on her first run and even topped the senatorial race in 2013 as she thanked her voters for the opportunity.
“If they tell me that I lost the battle in the SET or the Supreme Court, who I am to say that I should [stay in the Senate?] But I hope they don’t forget the more than 20 million people who trusted me. This is a mandate that I respect and value,” the senator added. Maila Ager/RC