ANGELES, Pampanga — Is presidential aspirant Senator Grace Poe ready to accept an endorsement from her father’s erstwhile rival, former President and now detained Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?
Poe failed to give a categorical yes or no answer when reporters asked this question while she campaigned here on Thursday with senatorial bets Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and Edu Manzano.
“Ayaw kong pangunahan ang pagsabi kung sino ang mage-endorso, sinong susuporta. Baka mamaya magpalit ng isip mapahiya pa kami pare-pareho,” Poe said.
(I don’t want to preempt potential endorsers. He or she might change his or her mind, and we will just be humiliated.)
“E ito naman ay dapat boluntaryog ibinibigay. Salamat kung sino man pero para sa akin ang aking plataporma kaibigan ka man o kaaway, dapat patas ang pagtrato sa ‘yo, sa batas at sa ating bansa,” she said in the sidelines of her campaign in Pampanga, Arroyo’s home province.
(An [endorsement] should be voluntarily given. I would like to thank my endorsers; but in my platform, whether you are an ally or a foe, you deserve equal treatment in the laws of our land.)
READ: Poe back at Arroyo bailiwick in Pampanga
Poe did not budge when a reporter asked again if she would welcome an endorsement from Arroyo.
“Ganito na lang, sa kahit na sino, tanungin n’yo na lang ‘yung tao muna kasi mahirap namang magkomento na wala namang pahayag maski na sino,” she said.
(In any case, whoever the person is should be asked first [if he or she is indeed endorsing me], because it isn’t proper to comment on a statement that has not been made.)
“Basta masasabi ko lang na, ito siguro ang concern ng ating mga kababyan, kaibigan man o kaaway, patas ang pagtrato sa mata ng batas. Sapagkat ‘yan ang nagiging problema: ‘pag ikaw ay kaalyado, may tulong ka, kung ikaw ay kaaway baka may kaso ka pa,” she added.
(What I can only say is–because I think this is the concern of our countrymen–whether you are my ally or foe, you deserve equal treatment in our laws. Because this has been our problem: the allies [of the government] are getting assistance, while the enemies get charged.)
READ: Poe urges swift resolution on Arroyo, other pending cases
Arroyo defeated Poe’s father, the late action star Fernando Poe Jr., in the 2004 presidential race believed to be marred with massive fraud.
On Senator Lito Lapid’s reported endorsement of the presidential bid of administration standard -bearer Mar Roxas, Poe said she respects the decision of her colleague, noting that his son, Mark Lapid, is running under Roxas’ senatorial ticket.
“Ginagalang ko ‘yung decision ni Senator Lapid kung ‘yan ang kanyang napupusuan lalong lalo na ang kanyang anak ay nasa slate ng LP (Liberal Party),” said Poe.
(I respect the decision of Senator Lapid if that is his will, especially because his son is in the slate of LP.) IDL
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