Even before Sen. Grace Poe signed the Senate blue ribbon committee report that recommended the filing of charges against Vice President Jejomar Binay, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco and United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) Secretary General JV Bautista had been ganging up on the neophyte legislator who has become the most formidable challenger to either the presidency or the vice presidency in next year’s elections.
Tiangco produced a document that showed that Poe will fall short of the 10-year residency requirement for presidential candidates, an obvious snipe intended to shoot down a Liberal Party (LP) attempt to recruit her as their next presidential candidate.
The most pointed and cruel, however, came from UNA Secretary General JV Bautista who pointed out that Senator Poe was a “foundling,” an abandoned child who was later adopted by famed show biz couple Fernando Poe, Jr. and Susan Roces.
Tiangco’s retort came after Poe remarked that she never considered Binay as a potential running mate. Any running mate she may have would have to be honest and delivered quality public service.
But even before Poe asked why the UNA camp launched these broadsides at her, anyone observant enough would see that these allegations rose after the senator signed the committee report that recommended the filing of charges against Binay.
Binay may be leading in all the surveys but Poe’s statistical tie with the vice president in the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey showed that, at least on the surface, he isn’t as invincible as his supporters and family thought.
That Rep. Abigail Binay, the vice president’s daughter, stated that it is up to the courts to decide whether or not Poe is qualified to run for president speaks of the Binay camp’s wariness and acknowledgment of Sen. Poe’s good standing and popularity with the public.
It is up to UNA, which is perceived to be headed by the Binay faction, to decide whether or not to continue their broadsides at Poe even if Tiangco apologized for the damage caused by his remarks on the Poe and Binay families.
If anything, Bautista should also issue a similar apology for his disclosure about Poe’s status owing to existent and longstanding prejudice against abandoned children.
As it is, both Tiangco and Bautista’s snide broadsides only served to enhance Poe’s public standing, not ruin it. Compared to their boss, who actively avoided every chance to explain his multi-million-peso wealth before the Senate, Sen. Poe confronted her accusers head-on.
It’s still less than five months away from the filing of certificates of candidacy but now the public knows there are alternative candidates better suited to the presidency.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
