WITH some believing she is completely out of the presidential race, Sen. Grace Poe on Wednesday called on her supporters to clear the misconception and explain to people that the attempts to disqualify her are not yet final.
Poe made the call as she addressed members of the Grace Poe Movement for President (GPMP) during the inauguration of the group’s Quezon City headquarters Wednesday morning.
Ruling contested
Two divisions of the Commission on Elections have decided to cancel her certificate of candidacy for President based on her supposed lack of residency and for not being a natural-born Filipino, but the ruling is still being contested in the poll body’s en banc. The Supreme Court would have final say on the matter.
“I am asking for your help… Many had asked, during one survey of the Magdalo, ‘isn’t Grace Poe already disqualified?’ So there is a need to explain that the process is not yet final,” Poe said.
In a statement, Magdalo party-list Rep. Francisco Ashley Acedillo said they had observed that a “significant number” of respondents believed that Poe was already disqualified, or were asking if this was the case.
The Magdalo survey, conducted from Dec. 9 to 11, put Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte at the top, with 31.9 percent. Poe, the former topnotcher, was second with 26 percent. She was followed by Vice President Jejomar Binay with 23.6 percent, administration bet Mar Roxas with 13.5 percent, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago with 4 percent, and former ambassador Roy Seneres with 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, Sen. Vicente Sotto III said the Comelec should not remove Poe’s name from the ballot especially since the Supreme Court has set oral arguments on the Senate Electoral Tribunal’s decision that dismissed a petition claiming she was not a natural-born citizen.
Sotto said that if Supreme Court, in the SET case, rules that Poe is natural-born, it could have an effect on petitions to disqualify her from the presidential race.
Poe also told her supporters to engage in a positive campaign and not do anything illegal and not meddle in nonconstructive
issues.
Drum up support
Oscar Valera, national chair of the GPMP, said the group’s 2,000 members would continue to fight for Poe, spread her message, and drum up support for her. The group targets to recruit 10 million members.
The GPMP headquarters is a warehouse located along Edsa in Quezon City, near Muñoz.
Poe also disclosed that her DNA test with a new set of potential relatives is under way the results of which could be available in three to four weeks.
According to Poe, she decided to undergo the DNA test with the family because she felt that their story was plausible.