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Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Poe’s death stuns supporters
By Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
FERNANDO Poe Jr. may have lost by a wide margin in Cebu City in the last elections but he never held a grudge against Cebuanos and his political leaders here, said one top ally.
Poe’s close friends and supporters in Cebu mourned his death yesterday, saying they lost a good friend who wanted to help the poor and the sick.
Reports of Poe’s death came as a surprise to former Cebu City councilor Goerge Rama, whose family is very close to the movie actor and former presidential aspirant.
Just last week, Poe assured Rama of his financial help for the latter’s chemotherapy and other medications. They were supposed to meet in Manila this Friday to stand as sponsors in the baptism of Annabel Rama’s grandson.
“He was never really a politician, and he did not hold grudges. Wala gyud siya’y kahiubos kay ako na siyang giingnan daan na dili siya kadaog sa Cebu. Gisayangan siya kay gusto gyud siya musilbi sa katawhan pero wala siya nagdumot bisag sa mga tawo nga nibiya niya (I had warned him before that he would lose in Cebu. He only wanted a chance to serve, but did not harbor any hatred, even for those who deserted him),” Rama told Sun.Star yesterday.
Poe, 65, died at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, two days after he lapsed into a coma due to a massive stroke that also affected various internal organs.
‘Great man’
President Arroyo joined the nation in mourning Poe’s demise. She called her former rival in the presidential race “a great man, a worthy adversary and a great Filipino.”
The Senate passed a resolution of sympathy for the Poe family.
Poe’s body was brought to Arlington Memorial Homes in Pasig City, but will be brought to the Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City Thursday night.
The burial is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 22 in La Loma Cemetery, where Poe’s parents Fernando Sr. and Bessie Kelley are also buried.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said he is not yet sure if Arroyo will attend Poe’s wake or if she will just send a representative.
Sen. Edgardo Angara said that while the opposition has grown weaker with Poe’s death, the former presidential candidate will become a symbol of the opposition for a long time.
Public grief
Angara added they will keep up the electoral protest that Poe earlier filed to question the results of the May 10 ballot.
He also said they are considering Poe’s wife, the popular actress Susan Roces, as the new leader of the opposition. Roces steered clear of that subject during a brief press conference, in which she thanked Poe’s supporters and said they would have every opportunity to pay their last respects.
Even after losing in the elections, Poe continued to communicate with Rama to hear about developments on his condition, after Rama was diagnosed early this year with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer that affects the lymphatic system.
In an interview yesterday, Rama said Poe accepted his defeat in Cebu and did not hold grudges against local candidates who ran under his Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino yet still supported the administration party.
With only 58,591 votes in Cebu City, Poe lost to Arroyo who got 220,060 votes.
Not political
On the two occasions that Poe was in Cebu before the May 10 elections, Rama said Poe did not have complaints about his health condition.
He was careful about his food intake, but drank alcohol and smoked often.
On hindsight, Rama said politics did not suit Poe since he was an honest man and refused to accept political contributions of some businessmen.
“Dili gyud to siya magsilbi sa politika kay sobra ka tarong to nga tawo. Honest ra kaayo and you can see that during former president Joseph Estrada’s term because even if he helped Erap win, he never asked for special favors or any position,” he added.
Even in show business, Poe was known to help the needy. He was said to have given financial help to former actors who no longer have any means of livelihood and he also sent their children to school, Rama said. (With Sunnex)
(December 15, 2004 issue)
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