Poe vows to take oath of office in Jaro, Iloilo if she becomes president

JARO, Iloilo — Senator Grace Poe vowed Tuesday to set foot once again in the town where she was abandoned as an infant to take her oath of office should she win as president in the May polls.

Speaking before hundreds of supporters at the Jaro Plaza, Poe expressed her gratitude to the people of Iloilo for taking care of her since she was found inside the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral.

"Taos puso akong nagpapasalamat sa mga pamilyang kumupkop sa akin, sa lahat ng tumanggap sa akin kahit na may mga nagsasabing hindi daw ninyo ako kikilalanin dito pero lahat kayo nandito," Poe told the crowd.

"Pag ginusto ng Diyos at ng ating mga kababayan at ako ay nabigyan ng pagkakataon maging pangulo ng ating bansa, ako ay babalik dito sa Jaro, sa harapan ng cathedral at manunumpa bilang pangulo ninyo," she added.

Poe's address capped off what her camp described as a "sentimental" sortie to the province she considers to be her birthplace.

The senator was found at the holy water font of the Jaro Cathedral in 1968 by Edgardo Militar, whose family raised her until she was adopted by the late action star Fernando Poe Jr. and wife Susan Roces.

Poe has been disqualified by the Commission on Elections on account of her citizenship and residency, but her case is on appeal before the Supreme Court. —KBK, GMA News