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Poe still undecided if she will seek re-election


Senator Grace Poe has not decided whether she will seek re-election in next year's midterm polls.

"If I run in 2019—I’m not even sure at this point," Poe said in an interview over ANC on Thursday.

"I have to talk to my God. And I have to talk to my mom, and definitely my husband," she added.

"It’s a personal reason for me. I have to talk to my husband about this...I think that he—more than us—I think he’s traumatized by what happened during the last elections," she said.

One of the issues Poe faced months before the 2016 elections was the question of her citizenship, having been a "foundling" adopted by film stars Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces. She faced a quo warranto petition against her and even underwent a DNA test to check if the people who first adopted her were her blood relatives.

The senator also said her husband Neil Llamanzares suggested that since her "pet" bills have already been signed into law, her purpose might already have been served.

"He’s thinking, if your landmark or your pet bills were already put forward, already approved, my feeding program for example, for the lunch program...para sa akin malaking bagay na kasi iyon. Kung para do’n lang sa tingin ko malaking tulong ‘yan sa ating mga kababayan," she said.

Topping surveys

Poe also does not see the result of recent surveys as being to her advantage, saying that public opinion can change with just one hurled issue against her.

"The numbers will not necessarily be the same next year. It’s not really indicative of your placement in the actual time of elections, that can’t just be the sole basis," she said.

"It just takes one particular issue to change all that. So I’m not banking on that," she added.

Poe emerged on top of the list of probable winners in the May 2019 senatorial elections if the polls were held in June, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey.

Poe was the surprise topnotcher in the 2013 senatorial race and was the frontrunner in the surveys months before the 2016 presidential elections, before Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte joined the race and emerged the victor.

The senator said what she was more gratified with both the approval ratings and the trust ratings, which are not available to the public.

"When I see it, that’s the one that is most heartwarming. How much I am trusted, and that’s what I want to keep," she said.

Poe said that if she does decide to run for re-election, she will do it as an independent candidate just like what she did in 2013 when the Liberal Party adopted her as their senatorial candidate.

She said that as of now, no political party has invited her to join them.

"Kung may magiimbita sa iyo, kukunin ka, e di maraming salamat. Wala namang nagiimbita sa akin ngayon," she said.

"When you do a national campaign, you can really do it on your own, if you already have established your presence and rapport. I think that in 2016, I went around extensively. That’s why I think my advantage is I know the nitty-gritty issues of many regions because I had to prepare for that, so when I come back, if I have to go around again, I think—hindi naman sa pagmamayabang, importante ang partido lalo na kung administrasyon pero kung ayaw ka naman nila, ‘di ba," she added.

She further said that she does not want to lose her message.

"If you deviate from your character just to accommodate certain political mindsets, then you lose your brand, you lose your message. And I think, my only guidance really, and some may be saying na ayan na naman, you’re invoking it, but what would my father have done? Whos’s FPJ in the eyes of the people? Tumutulong. So even my bills are geared towards that," she said. — BM, GMA News

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