By Llanesca T Panti/Manila Times
Senator Grace Poe will not be anybody’s running mate in 2016 because for her, it’s the presidency or nothing, a source said yesterday.
The source who asked not to be identified for lack of authority to speak on the matter said Poe is not considering running for vice president.
He said the senator believes that running second fiddle to any presidential candidate would not bode well for her political career since she could just be used as a tool to boost somebody’s chances.
“She doesn’t want to run for vice president. If she will run in 2016, it would be for president. She could be a lock for vice president, but in the long run, she is thinking, how would that work out for her? If she wins as vice president, she will occupy that post until 2022. By that time, she can’t be so sure that she will still enjoy the same high level of popularity and trust of the people, and she knows it,” the source, who has confirmed that some political parties are convincing Poe to be in their team as the vice presidential bet, said.
“Grace will not accept that offer to run as vice president. She doesn’t like it,” the source added. “She wants to run while she has good chances, and she knows that 2016 is the best time for her to run for president,” the source pointed out. Poe, daughter of the late actor Fernando Poe Jr, surprisingly topped the 2013 senatorial race with 20mn votes.
In last week’s Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, the senator trailed Vice President Jejomar Binay by only five percentage points.
Binay, who had consistently topped presidential surveys, got 36%, down from his 37% rating in December last year.
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte ranked third, surging to 15% from 5% in December. Duterte tied with Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas of the ruling Liberal Party, whose rating fell to 15% from 19% in December.
Sen. Miriam Santiago and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada were tied at 11%.
Binay had from the start been very vocal about his presidential ambition.
Roxas was reported to have expressed interest in running for president, but Poe and Duterte have yet to announce their plans to run in 2016.
Poe led the Senate investigation on the killing of 44 Special Action Force troops in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in her capacity as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Safety. She has criticised President Benigno Aquino for allowing then suspended police chief Alan Purisima to be involved in the Mamasapano operations, for the arrest of two high profile terrorists.
In its report, the Senate panel found the president responsible for the operation that left at least 60 people dead, including the 44 police commandos.“The president must bear responsibility for giving assent to and failing to prevent the unlawful exercise of official functions by Purisima in connection with Oplan Exodus,” the report said.
Grace Poe
