FPJ’s daughter gets emotional in Cebu political rally

THE daughter of movie icon Fernando Poe Jr. admitted that she had a hard time facing the crowd in Cebu during the Team PNoy rally on Tuesday, as her father was heavily cheated in the province when he ran for president in 2004.

Grace Poe-Llamanzares, a candidate for senator, recalled how the local leaders allied with then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stole the presidency from her father during the 2004 national elections.

"Sariwa pa po ang sugat ng nakaraan, ito ang dahilan kaya hindi ako tumayo sa isang rally sa Cebu City, masakit pa po hanggang sa ngayon (It still hurts; that's why I decided not to join the other rally held in Cebu City)," Poe told the crowd referring to the kick-off rally of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) last February 12.

She said that her family is not blaming it to the people of Cebu since the vote rigging operations were done by some close allies of Arroyo who were present in last week's UNA proclamation rally.

It was beleaguered Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia who welcomed UNA in the vote-rich province when the campaign period kicked off last week. Garcia was suspended for six months by the Office of the President, which found her guilty of grave abuse of authority.

To recall, it was Garcia who campaigned for Arroyo in Cebu in 2004. The popular movie actor lost to Arroyo in the province by one million votes.

Poe-Llamanzares is guest candidate of both Team PNoy and UNA for the May 13 midterm elections. Her father, popularly known as "FPJ" in the local movie industry, is a close friend of UNA leaders, former President Joseph Estrada and Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Poe-Llamanzares was former chairman of the Movie Television Review and Classification Board. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)