‘Grace, Chiz announcing candidacy this month’

MANILA, Philippines - Sens. Grace Poe and Francis Escudero are announcing their plans to run for president and vice president this month ahead of next month’s filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) in the May 9, 2016 elections.

That is according to Rep. Eulogio Magsaysay of Alliance of Volunteer Educators, one of the two senators’ congressmen-supporters.

Poe and Escudero have so far been coy about their 2016 plans, though they are believed to have set their minds on the presidency and the vice presidency.

Poe has already started her television ad placements.

In a statement yesterday, Magsaysay said he and his party-list group support Poe’s call for more funding for scholarships for college students under the Tulong Dunong program of the Commission on Higher Education.

“We are glad that Senator Poe raised this issue, and we are happy that she is formally announcing her intent to run for the presidency together with Sen. Chiz this month,” he said. 

“The next government must show concern for the youth. These scholarships are a means by which many of our youth are given opportunities to improve their lives and those of their families. The Tulong Dunong program, in particular, opens the door to college for sectors who otherwise would be hard-pressed to obtain college diplomas,” he said.

Magsaysay quoted Poe as telling a group of students in Nueva Ecija: “We should fight for the right of more students to finish college. We all should have that opportunity, and this is the responsibility of the state as parents of us all.”

He said the statement “is a preview of a Gobyerno na may Puso or GP (Poe’s initials) under Sen. Poe.”

“The people want and need a government with a heart, one that empathizes with their struggles and their hopes and dreams,” he said.

Filing of COC possible

Meanwhile, an official of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) said Poe can still file her certificate of candidacy (COC) despite a pending case questioning her citizenship and residency.

Irene Guevarra, SET spokesperson, said Poe can file her intention to run before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) even before the tribunal has decided on the petition filed against her.

Guevarra said the petition questioning Poe’s citizenship and residency is “not a condition precedent” to her filing of her COC. – With Robertzon Ramirez