Senator Poe shakes off tandem issues, vows independence

Amid growing speculations on her possible role and party in the 2016 presidential elections, Sen. Grace Poe on Thursday vowed to maintain her independence despite being courted by different parties.

In an interview with reporters, Poe said she did not mind being wooed by the ruling Liberal Party (LP) and Vice President Jejomar Binay’s United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), as tandems and coalitions were the least of her concerns.

“Tandems and parties should not be one’s priorities,” Poe said in Filipino. “The first consideration of a candidate should be what he or she can do to improve the lives of the majority of our countrymen.”

On Wednesday, the noncommittal Poe confirmed to reporters that Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, the prospective LP standard-bearer, had asked her to be his vice presidential running mate.

President Benigno Aquino III on Monday said Roxas was still on top of the administration’s list as his successor in 2016, despite lagging behind presidential surveys.

READ: Roxas to Poe: Be my VP

Poe said she had a high regard for President Benigno Aquino III, but added a party was composed of different individuals with different views.

“If ever these parties will help me, then thank you. But being independent must be maintained,” she said. “In times like these, it is difficult to be limited to a single party.”

Asked what the involved parties could do to convince her to join their side, the senator said championing the best interest of the citizenry topped her priorities.

“Kung ang lahat ay sa partido lang sasang-ayon, paano naman ang interes ng mga kababayan kung ito’y salungat sa mga layunin ng partido (How about the interest of our countrymen, if it will go against the party’s goals)?” she said.

Poe ran as an independent candidate in the 2010 elections and emerged the top senatorial bet.

‘Think before you speak’

Reacting to the statement of UNA spokesperson JV Bautista that LP was composed of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo allies who allegedly cheated to win against her father Fernando Poe Jr. in the 2004 presidential elections, the senator said UNA should “think before they speak.”

“I don’t want the situation to get worse, but I hope they think before they speak, because they themselves have allies who are involved in cheating and corruption,” Poe said.

While acknowledging her father’s personal relationship with UNA leaders, Binay and former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, she said a line had to be drawn when it comes to duty.

“We must consider the limits of friendship and determine where we are going to start fulfilling our responsibilities,” Poe said. RC

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