Poe: Nothing wrong with being a newbie

Presidential aspirant Sen. Grace Poe on Thursday took a dig at her critics who continued to question her competence to lead the country given her short time in public service.

“Alam nyo po ang sabi nila, sa lahat ng tumatakbo, ako ang may pinakapayat na karanasan at ako rin daw ang may pinakamaikling track record ng paninilbhan,” Poe said in her speech after she and running mate Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero were endorsed by the Makabayan bloc, a progressive coalition, at Quezon City Sports Club.

“Pero alam nyo po, sa tinagal-tagal na panahon, ang dami na nating naging pangarap sa ating bansa na hindi pa rin nagkakatotoo at bakit? Dahil nga ’yung matatagal na at makaluma nang pananaw ang paulit-ulit na nailalagay sa pwesto,” she said.

Unlike other public officials, who had been in government for a long time, Poe said a newbie like her could offer fresh ideas needed to push the country forward.

“I-imagine nyo ang isang pisara … kung matagal ka nang naninilbihan sa gobyerno, punong-puno na ’yan ng kaisipan, tama man o mali, wala ka nang maisingit, wala nang puwang,” she said.

“Yung aking pisara, nandyan ang outline. Maayos ang outline. Ang outline ay ang mga nais nating gawin para sa ating bansa pero kasama kayo sa pagsulat ng magiging kasaysayan ng ating bansa.”

She said the history of the country should not be written by only one person, pointing out that an official, who had been in government for a long time, might no longer know what was happening around him.

“Ang paborito naming quote ni Sen. Chiz Escudero mula sa isang Gloc 9 na kanta: ‘Kayong mga nakaupo, subukan nyo namang tumayo para masilayan nyo ang tunay na kalagayan ko,’” she said.

“Hindi pa mainit ang silya ko sa panunungkulan dahil hindi pa ako ganun katagal na nakaupo. Ang ibang mga tao sa tagal na nila, napakabigat na ng bagaheng dala nila. Pag mabigat ang bagaheng dala mo, hindi ka na makakilos. Pag sobrang talino mo at sobrang dami mong alam, wala ka nang pasensyang makinig sa ibang tao at sa ibang pananaw. Sarado na ang isip mo,” she added.

“Kaya po itong sinasabi nilang baguhan pa lamang, ang bago ay hindi masama.”

Poe offered another analogy, this time comparing herself to a 3-year-old car versus two old and more expensive cars.

She said the new car would perform better than the two old cars, which may be more expensive but performed poorly. Maila Ager/RC

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