Poe calls for prudence, fairness after ‘puppet’ tag

Presidential aspirant Grace Poe has appealed for prudence and fairness from political rivals and the media after being called a “puppet” of businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco for supposedly defending the latter over the coco levy fund issue.

“Kahilingan lamang sa mga tagapagsalita ng ibang partido na maging responsable sa kanilang mga sinasabi at basahing mabuti ang transcript o kung ano ang sinabi mismo ng kandidato. Paminsan ang headline ay misleading. You have to go beyond the headline,” Poe said at a press conference in Malabon Thursday night.

(What is needed from spokespersons of other parties is to be responsible in their statements and to carefully read the transcript or what the candidate actually said. Sometimes, headlines can be misleading. You have to go beyond the headline.)

READ: Grace defends Danding on coco levy

She then clarified her position on the coco levy funds — first, there should be an audit on the number of legitimate beneficiaries of the funds and that the estimated P80-billion coco levy should be allotted for programs that would benefit the Filipino farmers and their families.

Poe also recalled saying that the Supreme Court has already ruled that the use of the coco levy funds should be decided by Congress and not just through the issuance of an executive order by the President.

“Tandaan naman sana ng mga nagsabi niyan, matagal nang na-surrender ‘yung portion na dapat ay galing—na galing doon sa sinasabi nilang padrino ko daw. Huwag naman silang magsalita ng ganoon na alam naman nila, sila mismo kung magaling sila, maiintindihan nila na noon pa wala namang (may) hawak na doon at matagal nang nakatali sa isang trust fund ang pera na ‘yan,” she said.

“Dapat ang sisihin natin ay ang kabagalan din ng liderato dito para ipasa ang batas para diyan.”

(The one who said that must be reminded that the portion that should come from my supposed patron has long been surrendered. They shouldn’t say that; if they really knew about it and if they are so competent, they would understand that even then, no one has a hold on that and the fund has long been tied to a trust fund.

We should instead blame the slow pace at which the leadership is taking to pass the law for that.)

READ: Poe-Escudero hit for clearing Danding

If elected president in May, Poe promised to push for the passage of a law that would determine how the coco levy funds should be used.

“Pero ang itutulak ko ay gamitin lamang ito para sa mga magsasaka na nagtatanim ng niyog dahil sa kanila talaga ‘yan,” she said.

(What I would urge is for this to be used only for coconut farmers because it is truly due to them.)

Asked if she would now limit her engagements with the media since she said she has been sometimes misquoted or taken out of context, Poe said answered no, saying she remained thankful that the media is giving her an opportunity to clarify her statements.

“Again, you can always have the defense of interpretation, especially if you have to translate from one dialect to another, from one language to another. So I give you all the benefit of the doubt, and for as long as you also fairly air our side, without imposition on our part but out of also clarification on your part, then we are thankful for it because I think that’s what’s important,” she said.

“We understand if you say that politicians have to market themselves. We do but we should all try to do it responsibly and also we need to grab the attention of our readers and our watchers.”

“But then, as much as possible, we do it also in accordance with the proper context. I mean it’s just an appeal to everyone in general. But I don’t find fault in anyone in particular. We just have to be fair the next time around if we feel that there needs to be a clarification,” added Poe, who is an advocate of the proposed Freedom of Information bill. CDG

READ: Duterte camp calls Poe a ‘puppet’ for defending Danding Cojuangco on coco levy