Poe: I have a lot of flaws, but I’ve never thrown things at anyone

Sen. Grace Poe. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

She has a “lot of flaws” but presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe said she has not thrown a cellphone, a shoe or a laptop at anyone.

Poe made this remark when asked during an open forum after attending the 2016 Presidential Dialogues in Makati City on Wednesday if she has a dark side behind her “very calm” demeanor.

“Actually as a public figure, you have to maintain a certain demeanor. You also have responsibility to the public but of course I’m not perfect. I have a lot of flaws, my husband can tell you that, my friends even. They know who I am,” she said.

“No, I’ve never thrown a cellphone, a shoe or a laptop at anyone. I think i have this calmness in me because I know that the truth is on my side. I’m not lying with all the things that they are hurling against me.”

Poe noted that she has been called names like an “alcoholic” and accused of many “hurtful” things like using a fake Social Security number while she and her family were living in the US.

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

While she admitted that she was “bothered” by all these baseless accusation against her, the senator said this did not limit her from doing what she has to do.

“With all these things coming out…what I’m trying to tell myself is this: ‘What is my real intention of running?”

“As I’ve mentioned in my speech, I think we should really offer hope and an alternative to our countrymen. I think we should have a vision for the future—what we want to give them. I think we deserve better than what we have now. That’s why I’m doing this,” said Poe, who received an applause from businessmen who attended the said event.

Poe said some people were also asking why she kept her calm when the Supreme Court was hearing the disqualification cases against her over her citizenship and residency issues. Some, she said, mistook it as if she did not care if she gets disqualified from the upcoming presidential race in May.

READ: Grace Poe: Every foundling has right to dream

“No, I do care. I’m not just obsessed with the position. And if there was anything that probably bothered me about it was the fact that the decision would really impact on other children like me because of what I decided to do if I was disqualified based on my natural born status. All these children in orphanages would be affected,” she said.

“That what was weighing down on me; but otherwise, all I had to tell myself was I did not give up and I did what I had to do and I followed the legal process and I’m not hiding anything and I want to make a difference for my countrymen and that’s all that I needed to remember,” the senator added.

Her last remark again received another applause from the crowd. RAM

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