Sen. Grace Poe: It’s still a big no

MANILA, Philippines - Even if she’s topping surveys on “probably-winnable” candidates for vice president of the Philippines in the 2016 elections, Sen. Grace Poe insists that her answer is still a big no.

She said so two weeks ago when Regal Matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde hosted a dinner for Grace’s 46th birthday (Sept. 3, 1968) and she said it again last Sunday night when STAR columnist/banker/art collector/philanthropist Danny Dolor treated friends to a sumptuous dinner at a function room of Shangri-La Makati to celebrate his birthday, together with JP Plata whose special day falls on the first week of this month.

But then, for how long can Sen. Grace say no? When she was urged by friends to run for senator in 2012, she was initially reluctant (but couldn’t say no to Pres. Noynoy Aquino), and she went on to top the senatorial race and attributed it to the enduring Poe Magic.

Since she assumed office last year, Grace has been getting praises for her “cool, composed and collected” style of working, maintaining “grace under pressure” even during a grueling and nerve-wracking “probe” such as the recent one involving PNP Chief Alan Purisima.

“I take my hat off to Grace,” said Tempo columnist Ronald Constantino. “She doesn’t try to intimidate or harass Purisima unlike other senators. Even when she’s asking a most critical question, Grace is cool, and for that she gets everybody’s admiration.”