Poe, Escudero finally get NPC’s endorsement

Presidential aspirant and Senator Grace Poe and Senator Francis Escudero. Photo courtesy of Senator Grace Poe’s Office

Senators Grace Poe and Francis Escudero have finally received the endorsement of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), the second largest political party in the country.

NPC president, House Deputy Speaker Giorgidi Aggabao, and other party leaders, announced the decision at a press conference at the House of Representatives on Monday.

“We of the Nationalist People’s Coalition wish to announce that we formally adopt Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares and Senator Francis Escudero as our candidates for President and Vice President, respectively,” Aggabao said, reading from a prepared statement.

After many months of meetings and consultations among its members, he said the party’s executive committee has deemed it appropriate to recognize and adhere to the great majority of its members’ wishes.

“Post tabulation results show the common theme in the selection of these candidates,” he said.

“First, that their platform is anchored on inclusivity, and second, the candidates’ clear intention to build on gains rather than simply accept the status quo or signal a return to old practices, or hastily, and radically subject the nation to a new and unpredictably cycle devoid of continuity.”

“The party feels that in these past decades of division and partisanship, these candidates represent the best hope for a unified push for sustainable development,” the party president added.

Aggabao said 90 percent of their party members voted to support the Poe-Escudero tandem.

READ: NPC head: 80 percent of members for Poe, Escudero

Both Poe and Escudero are now in Tuguegarao campaigning with some of their senatorial candidates.

The NPC earlier met with Poe and other presidential bets such as former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Vice President Jejomar Binay and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

NPC was founded by businessman tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., who also heads San Miguel Corporation (SMC).

Poe also earlier revealed that SMC was one of the companies that owns the private plane that she and her team use in some of their sorties. The other company, which she said provides them jets either in lease or borrowing, is Helitrend.

READ: Poe bares owners of private planes

“Maraming iba’t ibang kompanya. ‘Yung ibang nirerenatahan namin, si Helitrend, ‘yun ang talagang kanilang negosyo at hindi lang kami ang nanghihiram dun. Maraming humihiram dun; malalagay naman ‘yun sa SOCE (statements of contributions and expenditures),” she said at a press conference in Baguio City last week.

(There are different companies (which help us). We rent others, in the case of Helitrend, it is the nature of their business and our team is not the only one borrowing from them. There are others which borrow from them. It will be stated in our SOCE.

“Yung isang kompanya na hinihiraman namin o nagpapahiram sa amin ay San Miguel Corporation. Kung meron mang mga iba pa, ito naman ay mailalagay din namin sa SOCE,” she added.

(The other company where we borrow from is San Miguel Corporation. If there are others, we will put them in our SOCE.) RAM