Senator Grace Poe with adoptive mother Susan Roces. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON
As she faces the hardest challenge so far in her presidential bid, Senator Grace Poe made an appeal to her biological parents on Tuesday to come forward if they were aware that she is their daughter.
Like any other child, Poe said she was also wondering how her parents looked like.
“Kung alam n’ya kung ako nga ang kanyang anak, e sana lumapit (If they know that I am their daughter, I hope they come forward),” Poe said when asked during a press conference in Calamba, Laguna what would be her message to her biological parents.
“Matagal ko na rin s’yang hinanap, hind para dito lamang sa aking kaso pero bilang isang ampon talagang pinagdadaanan mo ‘yan, bata ka, teenager ka , mag kaasawa ka, nakikita mo ang mga anak mo, iniisip ano kaya ang hitsura din ng mga magulang mo,” she said.
(I have been looking for them for a long time, not just because of this. As a foundling, you really go through that—as a child, as a teenager, when you get married and have children—you wonder what your parents look like.)
While she said she owed her life to her adoptive parents who took care of her, Poe said she was also thankful to her biological parents who chose to give her life.
Abandoned in a church in Iloilo when she was a baby, Poe was adopted by the late actor, Fernando Poe Jr. and veteran actress Susa Roces.
But the senator, who is running for president in 2016, is facing one of the hardest challenges in her political career as a number of disqualification cases have been filed against her in an apparent bid to stop her presidential bid.
One of the cases that seek to unseat her in the Senate is set to be decided this Tuesday afternoon by the Senate Electoral Tribunal.
READ: Ahead of SET decision, Grace Poe breaks into tears | Poe admits jitters ahead of SET decision
Poe though remained unfazed, saying she would not stop until the court makes a final decision on her case.
“Syempre ang pag-asa, ayaw nating matanggal sa atin. ‘Yan naman talaga ang nagbibigay ng lakas-loob, pero kahit ikaw na ay umaaasa, ikaw rin ay dapat na naghahanda sa anumang magiging decision dito,” she said.
(I am not letting go of my hope. It gives me confidence. But as I continue to hope, I should also be prepared whatever the decision in my case would be.)
“Para sa akin kung ano man ang magiging decision, sana paborable. Kung hindi naman, hindi naman ako mawawalan ng loob…” she added.
(For me, I hope the decision would be favorable. But if not, I will not lose hope.)
READ: Sad, ‘nervous’ Poe hopes SET’s decision will be fair
Poe said she was right when she thought before that she might experience what her adoptive father had experienced when the latter ran and lost in the 2004 presidential race.
The senator was apparently referring to the citizenship issue that was raised against FPJ when he ran and lost to then President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
“Alam ko ang pinagdaanan n’ya, at tama ako sa pag iisip ko noon, kung ano ang pinagdaanan n’ya, pinagdadaanan ko na rin ‘yun,” she said.
(I know what he went through, and I was right in thinking then that I would also experience what he had experienced.)
“Kaya iniisip ko, ano ba ang mga dapat na nagawa noon? Basta para sa akin, kung ano man ang nagawa ng tatay ko ipinamahagi n’ya ang mensahe na ang bawat Pilipino ay may halaga, ang bawat Pilipino ay dapat mabigyan ng pagakakataon sa hanapbuhay, sa edukasyon at ‘yan din ang aking dala-dala at kaya kahit na gaano pa karaming DQ (disqualification) ang isampa nila, ako’y naniniwala na karapatan ng bawat isa na mamili kung sino ang karapat-dapat,” Poe said.
(That’s why I have been contemplating what should have been done before. To me, whatever my father did, he was able to impart the message that every Filipino is important, that every Filipino has the right to be given an opportunity to earn a living and obtain education, and that is what I carry with me. So, despite the number of DQ cases filed against him, I still believe in the right of everyone to choose their rightful leader.)
Besides, the senator reiterated that her case was not because she stole money or that she did not do her job but simply because she was a foundling.
“Sabi nila, pag ikaw ay napulot, wala kang karapatan. Makatao ba naman ‘yun? So mas lalo akong nabibigyan ng lakas ng loob (na meron ako sa) ginagawa ko pagkat bitbit ko dito, hindi lamang ‘yung mga batang inabandona kung hindi ‘yung higit 20 million na malayang namili kung sino ang dapat na manilbihan sa kanila,” she added.
(They say that if you are a foundling, you have no rights. Is that humane? That is why I am more confident in what I am doing because I am doing this not just for the orphaned children, but also for the 20 million people to have the right to freely choose who they want to serve them.) IDL