Chiz lauds Grace for facing accusers

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Francis Escudero  gave credit to Sen. Grace Poe for answering her accusers and the allegations against her before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) instead of being evasive or non-responsive.

“Instead of hiding behind the default defense of ‘pulitika lang yan’ (it’s just politics), Sen. Grace has chosen to meet her accusers and the allegations head on, confident that the truth, the law and the people are on her side,” he said.

Escudero took a potshot at Vice-President Jejomar Binay without naming names.

“If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear,” he said. “In any case, the evidence her legal team has provided the tribunal will speak for itself.” 

Escudero said Poe showed sincerity and truthfulness  when she personally went to the SET preliminary conference on Friday to answer charges that she had not met residency and citizenship requirements when she ran  for the Senate in 2013. 

“We all know the charges are baseless and politically motivated,” he said.

“If there were doubts about Sen. Grace’s qualifications, then they should have been raised when she ran in 2013.”  

Escudero made the statement in the wake of a much-anticipated declaration that Poe would be making a formal announcement within the week regarding her plans to run for president in 2016.