Poe mingles with youths – Roxas need not wait for me

Reporters cluster around Sen. Grace Poe after her visit to attend the opening of sports intramurals in the U niversity of San Carlos gym. (CDN Photo/Tonee Despojo)

SEN. Grace Poe said Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Mar Roxas need not wait for her to decide whether she would be his running mate in next year’s elections.

“Hindi na nila ako kailangan hintayin,” (They don’t have to wait for me.) , she said in a radio dyAB interview.

Poe visited Cebu City yesterday to attend the opening of the intramurals of the University of San Carlos as a guest of the “Tingog Carolinian Party”.

Before showing up at the gym, she went radio hopping for interviews in dyAB, dyHP and Bombo Radyo. She also was interviewed by Mike Lopez for his TV show Open Mike at MyTV.

Poe, who won as number three senator in Cebu in the 2013 elections, said she was aware that Cebuano voters are “thinking voters” and prefer candidates with clear platforms.

Yesterday, Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas was with President Benigno Aquino and several Cabinet officials while Vice President Jejomar Binay was also in town.

READ: Roxas, Poe, Binay each eye Cebu’s 2.5 million voters

Poe’s presence in the university during Foundation Week touched off a bit of controversy as reporters were barred from following her inside and learned that initially, she wasn’t allowed to deliver a speech by university officials who wanted to avoid politicizing the intramurals.

Nicole Ann Ponce, former president of the USC Supreme Student Council said they informed the school administration on Saturday about Poe’s arrival.

“All I know is that our school is strict. Since it is a private institution, they do not allow this wihtout prior notice.

Mike Lopez later posted in his Facebook account that the senator was his “personal guest.”

“Just to be clear, I invited her, she was my personal guest. She was not planning to speak and simply wanted to see my alma mater, USC. But the fathers decided to let her speak at the last minute,” Lopez’s FB post read.

The post was accompanied by a photo of Poe speaking in front of USC students during the opening ceremonies.

Reporters who interviewed Poe later were told she had scheduled the Cebu visit two weeks ago, and that it was just a coincidence that Binay and Roxas were also in town.

Asked what she would have wanted to tell the students, she said, the youth would normally bring to her attention the need for affordable quality education, jobs and interneship programs, and faster Internet speed.

“Cebu is big and their needs are important. It’s not only Metro Manila that should be focused on that’s why all potential candidates should go around the country to see what’s needed, that’s part of our job,” she said in Filipino.

“The President has achieved a lot, and he is honest. But a lot remains to be done, and we need to hurry,” she said.
Support

Poe said she wanted to know what projects are needed in Cebu.

Asked if she can have a full slate in Cebu, she said she has yet to decide on it based on her consultations.

She declined to identify the political leaders she is consulting.

“Basta para sa akin kung sino ang pwedeng makatulong ng probinsya ng Cebu iyon ang gusto naming suportahan (For me whoever can help the province of Cebu, that’s who I want to support),” Poe said.