MANILA, Aug. 19 (PNA) – Although she has not declared her plans for the 2016 elections, Senator Grace Poe continues to draw support from various sectors, with the Magdalo Group expressing intention to endorse the lady lawmaker if she runs for president.
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said on Wednesday Poe is the preferred candidate of the Magdalo chapter leaders in the 2016 presidential elections.
”If Senator Grace Poe runs for president, our Magdalo group would support her. We have conducted extensive consultations among our chapter leaders the past few weeks and she is the preferred candidate for the 2016 presidential elections,” Trillanes said in a press statement.
Trillanes, who already declared his intention to run for vice president, said the Magdalo group, a socio-civic group, has 500,000 card holders.
In response, Poe thanked Trillanes for expressing the support in behalf of the Magdalo group.
”The firm stand of Senator Trillanes and the members of the Magdalo against abuses and corruption is an important part of history,” Poe said.
”Wherever the destiny would bring us, I would always be behind their fight and dedication to serve the country with honest intention,” she added.
Last Tuesday, Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito said he “cannot not” support Poe if she run for president.
”I cannot not support Senator Grace Poe because she is from San Juan,” Ejercito, the former two-termer San Juan mayor, said.
Ejercito is a member of the Senate minority bloc headed by Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, one of the pillars of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) which endorsed Vice President Jejomar Binay as its standard-bearer.
Acting Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III also said last Tuesday that the majority of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) are inclined to support the tandem of Poe and Senator Francis Escudero if it materializes.
”If the NPC supports them, we will be the lead political party,” Sotto, an NPC member, said.
Poe and Escudero are the top favorites in the recent Pulse Asia survey for the possible presidential and vice presidential candidates, respectively.
So far, Binay and Interior Secretary Manuel ‘Mar’ Roxas of the ruling Liberal Party have officially declared their intention to run for president. (PNA)