Graceless attack on Poe

The statements of Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, interim president of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA); and UNA Secretary-General JV Bautista that Sen. Grace Poe is not qualified to run for higher office in 2016 due to circumstances surrounding her birth and residency have only managed to endear her to the people.

In Filipino culture, we sympathize with the weak and defenseless who are beaten into a corner by the high and mighty. We cheer when the underdog finally has had enough and musters the courage and strength to fight back.

This was the sure-fire formula of Fernando Poe Jr.’s films that endeared him to fans and helped rake in big money at the box office tills. Dubbed “Da King” or “The King of Philippine Movies,” he epitomized the meek and humble stance of the ordinary man who fought for his dignity in the face of oppression.

“A foundling by definition is stateless,” intoned Bautista. But instead of harming the reputation of Senator Grace and rendering her unfit for higher office, this statement has aroused sentiments of compassion and pity for the infant Grace who was found at the agua bendita or holy water font, at Jaro Cathedral in Iloilo.

Nothing could be more heart-tugging than seeing an abandoned child rise above her humble origins to take her seat at the big table when she came of age. Senator Grace is a source of hope and inspiration to many. Perhaps by instinct, Senator Grace now takes up the cudgels for those who have less in life.

Let us leave the debate on the issues of Senator Grace’s citizenship and residency to our legal experts. In the end, this matter will surely go to court. There are as many interpretations of the law as there are lawyers in any gathering.

With this clumsy tactic to target Senator Grace’s provenance, UNA betrays its real feelings. UNA is scared of Grace Poe running for president in 2016, especially if she is picked by President Aquino and the ruling Liberal Party (LP) as the administration candidate.

Tiangco’s group is apparently hoping to make it a one-on-one between Vice President Jojo Binay and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas. This is a no-contest. But with Poe as the LP presidential candidate backed by the entire government machinery, they are in for a real fight. That’s why they want Senator Grace out of the picture.

More so if Senator Grace gets a bonus: A Poe-Roxas tandem would be quite formidable, if Mar again makes the supreme sacrifice and agrees to be her running mate. On the contrary, nobody—not Duterte, Poe, Roxas, etc.—seems to want to be associated with the Vice President.

UNA does not want Poe to be drafted by Aquino and the LP because they know Poe is a stronger candidate than Mar. They want Mar to be annointed as the administration candidate because they know Mar is easier to defeat.

They also want the financial backers of Poe to have second thoughts about supporting her candidacy. How else would they be able to recover their investment if and when she is disqualified?

This was what happened to FPJ when he ran against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004. Many would attest that his financial backers became worried that the citizenship issue filed against him would prosper. This is why he ran out of gas toward the end of his campaign versus the then-incumbent president.

But all this would be avoided if Grace is chosen as the standard-bearer by Aquino and the LP. The entire government infrastructure and machinery, including private big business with regulatory concerns would be at her disposal.

In the end, Toby should not worry if he really believes in his candidate. As they say in any contest, may the best man—or woman—win.