Sen. Gregorio Honasan II. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
“I think I’m the original foundling,” Vice Presidential bet and Senator Gringo Honasan said on Tuesday.
Honasan, running mate of Vice President Jejomar Binay in 2016 and vice president of the United Nationalist Alliance, said they also know the feeling of being abandoned.
“Alam din namin ang pakiramdam ng iniiwan. Katulad ko, sa tinigin ko ako ‘yung original na foundling. ‘Di ba lagi akong inaampon? Inampon ako ng UNA as a coalition ‘di ba?” the senator told reporters.
(We also know the feeling of being abandoned. Like me, I think I am the original founding. Aren’t I always being adopted? Wasn’t I adopted by UNA as a coalition?)
“Hindi ito komentraryo (This is not a comment) on the difficult situation of Senator Grace (Poe). I’m sure she will weather this problem in due time,” he said.
READ: Grace Poe not eligible for presidency, says UNA
Honasan was responding to earlier allegations that the Binay camp was behind efforts to disqualify Poe from the 2016 presidential race.
“Wala kaming capability at intention dahil alam namin ang pakiramdam ng being the target e, sustained target and I think the Vice President is very well aware of that kaya that does not give us an excuse to do the same thing to our political opponents,” he said.
(We don’t have the capability and the intention to do this because we know the feeling of a sustained target, and I think the Vice President is well aware of it, so it does not give us an excuse to do the same thing to our political opponents.)
READ: UNA ‘not in any position’ to influence Comelec over Poe’s DQ—Honasan
Honasan maintained that UNA and the Vice President’s stand on the disqualification cases against Poe is to allow due process to take its course and follow the rule of law.
Binay’s daughter and Senator Nancy Binay was one of those who voted at the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) to unseat Poe. But voting 5-4, the tribunal decided to the junk the case filed by Rizalito David, who was recently declared as a nuisance presidential bet in 2016. The case is now pending appeal at the Supreme Court. IDL