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Although unsure if she was alluded to, Senator Grace Poe disagreed with Vice President Jejomar Binay’s statement that the country’s next leader should not be someone inexperienced, and called on him to explain himself amid various allegations of corruption.
READ: Binay: We can’t afford an inexperienced leader
Poe, who has not yet decided about her 2016 plans, for the first time, made a strong statement against Binay, her possible rival for the presidency and a frontrunner in pre-election surveys.
“Sa tingin ko, hindi sa haba ng serbisyo ang batayan kundi kalidad ng serbisyo at katapatan (I think the basis should not be length of experience but quality of service and honesty),” she told reporters on Monday.
When asked if Binay possesses honesty, Poe said the Vice President should answer the corruption issues against him, including allegations of hidden wealth.
Binay is the subject of a corruption investigation by a Senate subcommittee investigation that has been going on since August last year. He has repeatedly snubbed invitations for him to attend the probe.
The Court of Appeals (CA) recently froze his bank accounts, as well as those of his associates and alleged dummies, on suspicion the deposits were from illegal activities.
“Para sa akin, mapapatunayan lalo niya kung magpakita siya at ieksplika niya ang mga paratang laban sa kanya (For me, he would be able to prove his honesty if he comes out and answer the allegations against him),” said Poe. “Ang hirap din um-attend ng hearing kung ang mismong pinaparatangan, hindi sumasama (It’s hard to attend a hearing when the accused is not there).”
Although still undecided about 2016, Poe has confirmed meeting with President Noynoy Aquino to discuss the elections.
GRACE PREFERS ‘CHIZ’
There have been reports of a possible tandem between Poe and Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas under the ruling Liberal Party (LP), but it still unclear who would run for president and vice president.
Should Poe decide to run, however, she said she would be comfortable running alongside her close friend and fellow independent, Senator Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero.
“Kahit noong 2013 elections, kami ni Senator Chiz ang magkasama na nag-iikot. Tinulungan niya kami na makipaglaban noong panahon pa ni FPJ (Since the 2013 elections, Senator Chiz and I have been together in going around the country. He helped us fight during the time of FPJ),” said Poe, referring to her father, the late Fernando Poe Jr.
FPJ ran for president but lost in the 2004 election, which was marred by allegations of widespread cheating.
Asked about a Poe-Escudero tandem, Escudero said it is not yet in his mind.
“Bagaman napag-uusapan namin minsan—minsan seryoso, minsan pabiro—ni Senator Poe, tulad niya wala pa akong desisyon (Although Senator Poe and I would sometimes talk about it — sometimes seriously, sometimes in jest — like her I have not decided yet),” he said.
CHIZ WON’T BACK BINAY
Whether he runs or not, however, Escudero said he would support Poe and not Binay, whom he endorsed for the vice presidency in 2010.
Escudero said many things have happened between then and now, including his exclusion from Binay’s party in the 2013 senatorial elections.
For some LP leaders like Senate President Franklin Drilon, Roxas should still be the party’s bet for the highest position in the land.
“I would take the position that Mar Roxas should now declare his intention—if he is indeed interested, and I think he is—to declare now his intention that he would want to present himself as a candidate for 2016,” said Drilon, the party’s vice chairman.
Text: Ryan Chua, ABS-CBN News
Photo: Senate
This article has been re-published with permission from ABS-CBNnews.com.
