Poe denies allegations of political donations, challenges detractors

Sen. Grace Poe-Llamanzares. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

Admitting that she is starting to lose her cool, Senator Grace Poe on Monday dared her detractors to prove the latest allegations against her involving some P150-million donation that she allegedly received from a Macau-based junket operator.

“First of all, that is absolutely not true, ‘yung inilalabas nilang dokumento talagang… Alam mo, ako talaga ay nagtitimpi lang ha, pero ‘yung mga ginagawa nilang ganyan sa tingin ko dapat managot na rin sila sa batas,” Poe said in an interview in Iloilo.

(First of all, that is absolutely not true, the document they [detractors] are releasing [is not true]…I am just suppressing my [emotions] but I think they should be held liable for what they are doing.)

“Pero, sige, kampanya ito; gusto nilang gawin ‘yan. Ang nakakalungkot pa may mga ibang naglalabas niyan na mga propesor. Bakit ko naman gagawin ‘yan? Unang-una, malinaw na malinaw ‘yan sa batas, wala akong tinatanggap na ganyan,” she said.

(But this is a campaign [and] they wanted to do that. The unfortunate thing is there are some professors who release [the document]. Why would I do that? First of all, it is clear in the law, I am not receiving such.)

READ: Poe on US ‘mansion,’ fake SSN: I’m not afraid

Poe made the remarks when sought to react to another report from Daily Tribune that she allegedly accepted a total of P150 million in political donations from the Sun City Holiday Resort owned by gambling mogul Alvin Chau.

The said donations were reportedly recorded in three cash vouchers issued last year—one voucher amounting to P50 million purportedly bore the “discernible” signature of the senator.

Poe denied the report and her signature.

“Ang dali naman na kumuha ng ibang dokumento para papirmahan. Hindi talaga… At talagang nakakalungkot nga…” she said.

(It is too easy to get another document for signature. It is not really true. And it is such an unfortunated thing.)

“Sana naman, sa ating mga kababayan, doon na tayo tumutok sa mga programa na makakatulong sa mahihirap, sapat na kita at trabaho para sa kanila. Ito ay walang katotohanan at hinahamon ko na sila,” she said.

(I hope our fellow countrymen focus on programs which will really help the poor, enough income and jobs for them. These [allegations] are not true and I challenge my detractors.)

The same newspaper earlier reported that Poe had two US Social Security numbers (SSN)—one, supposedly belonged to a dead person under her name.

Poe also denied it, saying SSN 005-003-1988, which was being questioned was Student Identification Number (005-003-1988) when she was a student at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. RAM

READ: Poe camp shoots down report she has 2 US Social Security numbers