Poe unfazed by SWS results

Senator Grace Poe was unfazed by her drop in the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey, saying she would listen and respect the opinion of the people.

Poe was overtaken by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in the latest SWS survey conducted from November 26 to 28, which was reportedly commissioned by a Davao-based businessman. Duterte emerged as the voters’ top choice in the survey with only 38 percent followed by Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay with 21 percent.

READ: Duterte tops SWS poll

“Importante na pakinggan natin at galangin ang hinaing ng ating mga kababayan so talagang importante talagang gawin nating gabay sa mga mensahe natin so pakinggan natin at respetuhin natin ang hinanaing ng ating mga kababayan,” the senator said when sought for comment on Wednesday.

(It is important that we heed and respect the sentiments of our countrymen so it is definitely important that we use this as guidance for our messages, hence we must listen to and respect our people’s sentiments.)

Told about Duterte’s wide lead over her and Binay, Poe said: “Alam nyo pag ikaw ay masyadong magugulatin hindi ka talaga pwede sa laban na ganito. Para sa amin, talagang kailangang ay nakatutok sa trabaho.”

(You know, if you are faint of heart you really have no place for this kind of battle. For us, you really have to focus on the job.)

“Noong mga nakaraang linggo at buwan , naatutok kasi ang interest ng tao sa mga kaso ko na hindi napapansin masyado at nabibigyan ng pananaw yung nais na layunin sa ating mga kababayan.”

(In the previous weeks and months, the people’s interest was focused on my cases so that little attention was paid to our goals for our countrymen.)

She was apparently referring to the disqualification cases filed against her at the Commission on Elections seeking to bar her from running for president in 2016.

Poe admitted that the cases, especially the Comelec Second Division’s decision to disqualify her, could have affected her standing in the pre-election survey.

READ: DQ cases affect Poe survey standing, Escudero admits

The Comelec Second Division has granted a disqualification case filed against her by lawyer Estrella Elamparo but the case can still be appealed at the Comelec en banc and the Supreme Court.

“Sa tingin ko may malaking dahilan dyan syempre hindi rin alam ng ating mga kababayan kung tuloy ba ang laban natin. Para sa akin naman po, tuloy po ang laban natin, ginagalang natin ang batas at dapat ay masunod ito pero kasama po dyan ang proseso rin ng pag apela at kami po’y naniniwala sa malakas naming legal batayan at tinatayuan,” she said.

(I think there is a major reason behind that, of course, our countrymen also don’t know whether our campaign will go on. For me, our fight goes on, we respect the law and it must be upheld, but along with that is the process of appealing and we believe in our strong legal bases and foundation.)

Asked again if she considered the survey credible considering that it was commissioned by a businessman from Duterte’s province, Poe said she would just leave it to the people to decide. CDG

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