Poe waiting for other pols to support her presidential bid

PHOTO FROM Maila Ager/INQUIRER.net

BACOLOD CITY—After getting the endorsement from a partylist coalition, Senator Grace Poe on Friday said she is now waiting for the others, who have earlier expressed their intention to support her presidential bid in the upcoming May elections.

“Ako’y nagpapasalamat sa kanila. Nakakataba ng puso,” Poe told reporters after she and other candidates of Partido Galing at Puso (PGP) were formally endorsed at a press conference held at L’Fisher Hotel here.

(I thank them. It is very heartwarming.)

READ: Partylist coalition backs Poe team, hopes to draw 10m votes

“Siyempre, marami sa kanila mga nakasama na rin natin kaya hindi na naman bago at ‘yung mga adbokasiya rin, lalong-lalo na ‘yung mga distrito na nakausap natin. At ‘yung mga iba naman sa party-list groups kasi, siyempre, specific ang kanilang mga adbokasiya na ating sinusuportahan,” she said.

(Of course, I have been with most of them before so it’s not really new and we share the same advocacy especially in the districts we have talked to. And as for the party-list groups, of course, I support their specific advocacies.)

Asked if she expected the support from the partylist groups, Poe said: “Alam mo, sa pulitika kasi mahirap umasa. Kaya kung anumang tulong ang maibibigay sa’yo, lalong-lalo na ganito pa katindi, ay talagang nakakataba ng puso.”

(You know, politics is unpredictable. That’s why whatever help they are extending is very heartwarming.)

She reiterated that most of the partylist groups had been with her when she first ran and topped the senatorial elections in 2013.

“Kaya ako’y nagpapasalamat kasi tinayuan din nila ‘yung aking kandidatura,” Poe said.

(That’s why I am thankful because they are supporting my candidacy now.)

Asked if there are other groups who would come out and endorse her presidential bid, she said she was already happy with the support that she got from the partylist groups, however, she said she was still waiting for the others to follow suit.

“Basta masaya kami dito. Sa tingin ko malakas na puwersa ito pero hinihintay din natin ang mga iba pa. Kung ano man ang kanilang kadahilanan, nirerespeto natin. Nagpahiwatig pero hangga’t hindi sila lumalabas, mahirap pangunahan.”

(We are happy. I think this is a formidable foce but I am still waiting for others to follow suit. I respect whatever reason they may have. They have expressed their intention but unless they make their support official, it is hard to preempt them.)

Asked again about Senate President Franklin Drilon’s statement that any talks of Liberal Party (LP) members jumping ship to Poe’s camp were just part of the “rumor mill,” the senator said: “Well, sabi ko nga, ayaw ko namang pangunahan ‘yung mga ‘yon (As I said, I don’t want to preempt them).”

READ: Drilon: No truth to rumors of LP members wanting to join Poe camp
“Alam ko kung sino ‘yung mga nakausap ko and ewan ko kung kilala niya kung sino ‘yung mga nakausap ko—basta. Kaya nga mas mabuti pa na hintayin na lang natin sa tamang panahon,” she further said.

(I am certain of the people I have talked to and I don’t know if he [Drilon] knows them. That’s why it would be better to wait for them at the right time.)

Drilon is vice chair of LP, which is rooting for its standard-bearer, former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II. RAM