What has the late FPJ done to the country after all?
Just like the President who never fails to attribute greatness to his late parents in their respective struggles fighting for democracy, presidential candidate Grace Poe always mentions his late adoptive father Fernando Poe Jr, and constantly declares that she will continue what she claims to be supposedly the good things that FPJ did to our country and people. Thus, she begs the question of what really has the late actor done to our country. Of course, PNoy's late father, the fiery and never-say-die senator from Concepcion, Tarlac has proven beyond the shadow of doubt that he has done so much to restore democracy which his wife, Corazon, merely continued. But FPJ, oh, come on.
There is no question, of course, that ''Da King'' was a great actor. He always played the roles of heroes who killed all his adversaries almost singe-handedly. He was always the avenging Robin Hood who did not mind violating some laws in order to save the people. He was the iconic defender of the oppressed, and the protector of the masses. He always played the role of the good cop who was alone fighting against syndicates and drug lords, gambling lords, and political war lords. He was just like Erap and Ramon Revilla Sr. He was never defeated by the moneyed and more powerful. But these were all fiction. It seems that Senator Grace Poe has difficulty distinguishing fiction and facts.
She should be reminded that all those were just for the reel. There was nothing real about them. The true life of FPJ was, with all due respect, too different from what was projected in his films. His personal life and his colorful love and romances. And so, what does Senator Grace Poe really mean when she keeps saying that she wants to continue the good things that his late adoptive father has allegedly done for our country and people. Would the lady senator follow the pattern in FPJ's movies, that is to be subjected to a lot of persecutions and harassments and then, come out as the winner at the end? Will she be able to survive all the disqualification cases filed against her?
The latest petition for Poe's disqualification has just been filed by former UE College of Law Dean, Amado Valdez. The petition is aimed at the cancellation of Senator Poe's certificate of candidacy for President, on the ground that she is not a natural-born citizen of the Philippines. I know the dean personally, having worked with him as Professor in UE for a number of years. From what I know out of my personal observations, Dean Valdez is a highly respected legal luminary who would not file a case without substantial evidence to warrant the cause of action. The 1935 Constitution under which the lady senator was born did not explicitly declare foundlings as natural-born citizens of the Philippines.
It may be recalled earlier that former Senator Francisco "Kit " Tatad has filed earlier the same petition for cancellation of Poe's certificate of candidacy, based substantially the same grounds. There were also other petitions of similar imports. And, with due respect, such cases cannot just be ignored. Of course, a similar petition was filed against FPJ when the good actor ran against former president GMA. Of course, those cases against her late father did not prosper. But the story of his father was too much different from her own story. We do not wish to cause sadness on all those who love FPJ but as a citizen of the republic, I have the right to express my views.
For Senator Grace to attribute greatness to her late adoptive dad would be to unduly take advantage of a dead man and derive undue advantages over and above her rivals for the presidency. She should start standing on her own merit, and try hard to convince the electorate that she deserves our support and our votes. She cannot hide forever behind the shadow of her late father. She must show her competence and character that are worthy of the position she is aiming for. It is her who is trying to win our support. But first of all, she must hurdle the disqualification petitions against her. She has to prove that she is indeed a natural-born citizen. If she cannot make it there, she cannot make it anywhere. Nor anytime.
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