Poe to Duterte: Don’t call me American

MANILA, Philippines – In her first and only conversation with President Duterte after the May 9 polls, Sen. Grace Poe asked him only one favor – not to call her an American.

Poe, who finished third in the presidential race, said the only time she spoke with the President was when she conceded shortly after the results came in and Duterte was clearly the winner.

Speaking at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum yesterday, Poe said the conversation was lighthearted and that before it ended, she asked him one favor.

“Hihingi sana ako ng favor. Pwede ba huwag niyo na ako tawagin na Amerikano sapagkat hindi naman totoo yun (I want to ask a favor from you. Can you please stop calling me an American because this is not true),” Poe said.

During the campaign period, Duterte was among the candidates who raised the issue of Poe’s citizenship because of the fact that she once acquired US citizenship.

Poe renounced her citizenship before she entered the political arena and during the campaign period for the May 9 elections, her husband Neil Llamanzares reportedly did the same even though he was covered by the country’s Dual Citizenship Law.

“I did not expect an apology from him and knowing him, he said this was all just part of politics,” Poe said.

She recalled speaking to the President about the matter on the sidelines of one of the presidential debates in Cebu City.

“I asked him why are you saying things against me? He said that it was just politics. But from then on, since the Cebu debate, he never brought it up again,” Poe said.

“I don’t know why he even used that as a battle cry initially, maybe because he had to be able to distinguish himself from me. I’m not saying all is fair in war and politics but certainly this one is forgivable,” she said.

During that conversation, the President told Poe that he would be supportive of her initiatives as long as they are for the good of the country.

“From the way I know him, although I don’t know him exactly at a very deep level, I think his intentions are good. So I could trust him in that way,” she said.

Poe said she has no regrets about running for president although she admitted that it was costly and entailed a lot of sacrifices.

Over the course of the campaign, Poe lost over 20 pounds and was able to sleep for at most three hours a night.