“Keep going.”
That was the “brotherly” advice of vice presidential aspirant and Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to Senator Grace Poe after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) second division disqualified her from the 2016 presidential race.
“Keep going…keep going. Huwag kang (Poe) panghihinaan ng loob (Don’t lose heart) and just know that when you are doing the right thing, you will in the end succeed,” Marcos told reporters Tuesday night when asked if he has brotherly advice to Poe.
Marcos said he was not surprised at all by the verdict of the Comelec. He, however, said that it’s still a long way before the issue would be finally settled, citing that Poe’s camp has announced that it would appeal the decision before the Comelec en banc.
“Mahaba pa ang proseso at antayin natin (The process is a long one and let us wait)…we leave it to the best of our legal minds to decide exactly what to do,” he said.
On Tuesday, Comelec ruled on the petition filed by lawyer Estrella Elamparo that seeks to disqualify Poe on the ground that she failed to satisfy the required 10-year residency preceding the day of elections which is provided in the Constitution.
READ: Comelec 2nd division disqualifies Grace Poe from presidential race | Escudero: Comelec’s disqualification of Poe ‘unfortunate, wrong’
Asked if the Comelec decision should alarm the opposition, the senator said “it’s expected and it is part of the black propaganda normally being employed by different groups.”
“Hindi naman bago ito at alam naman natin na maraming iba diyan na imbes na itinataas nila ang kanilang kandidato, ginigiba nila ‘yung iba,” he said.
(This isn’t new and we all know that there are others out there who, instead of promoting their candidates, put other candidates down.) CDG