Grace Poe still coasting on FPJ’s legacy—Miriam

Sen. Grace Poe continues to benefit from her late father's huge following especially among the poor, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said on Friday.

Poe, who topped the last senatorial elections as an independent in the administration ticket, surged to second place in Pulse Asia's latest survey of probable presidential candidates.

She has made no qualms about crediting the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. for her huge win in 2013.

"In the case of Grace, she is also strong in almost the same category as [Vice President Jejomar] Binay — the D category. That means, she is still coasting on the reputation of his father, and his aborted presidency," Santiago said.

In a text message to GMA News Online, Poe said, "She is right. It's always been my hope that people continue to remember FPJ. I always try to make him proud."

 

According to the survey that was conducted in November, 18 percent of the 1,200 respondents said they would vote Poe for President if the elections were held then.

"We will see if the electorate will become more demanding of Grace, and begin to judge her aside from her lineage," Santiago said.

Binay topped the presidential survey with 26 percentage points. Poe is second with 18 percentage points.

Despite being diagnosed with Stage Four lung cancer that she said had started to decrease in size, Santiago placed third with 12 percentage points.

Poe placed fourth with ten percentage points in Pulse Asia's survey published in September. 

‘Same voter preferences’

Binay continued to be in first place but his numbers also continued to fall. He had 41 percentage points in July, 31 in September, and 26 in December.

According to Pulse Asia, Binay and Poe got "almost the same voter preferences" with the Class D, with 26 percent going for Binay and 20 percent for Poe.

Binay supported the candidacy of the late actor when he ran against then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004.

Arroyo was declared the winner of the presidential elections but the Hello Garci scandal cast serious doubts on the legitimacy of her presidency.

The opposition standard bearer filed a protest against Arroyo but died just months after the elections on December 14, 2004. —NB/ELR, GMA News