The Audacity of Grace Poe

               

Photo Source: Ugnayan

We are a country of great people. In our veins runs the blood of courageous men who fought for independence, women who broke stigmas in a patriarchal society, inventors of great breakthrough and everyday heroes. Also, in our blood runs the tenacity of being stupid, or at least continuously choosing stupid decisions. In fact, we have been on the front cover of the Time Magazine for being the most stupid country to elect 20-Year OJT as a Senator. That senator happens to be the daughter of a presidential candidate.

                  Just last year, Grace Poe announced her bid for the presidential position. Her candidacy was welcomed with bouts of challenges; one of them is the question of her identity. Being the adopted daughter of two prominent names in the film industry, Grace Poe has dealt with very controversial issues regarding her origin. One of the recurring hearsays is that she is related to the Marcoses. Yes, those Marcoses of the Martial Law.  The issue didn’t end there; perhaps, it even started the bouts against her citizenship. She was educated in the United States, was a kindergarten teacher and a former citizen there too. A former citizen you say? Yes. She had to renounce her citizenship to be able to occupy a position in the Philippine government.

                  Aside from these issues of origin and citizenship, what else do we have to know about Grace Poe?

She was first recognized in the political circles as President Aquino’s appointee, the successor of Ma Consoliza Laguardia, then the chairwoman of Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB). During her tenure, saw the implementation of new ratings system for television programs and movies. Fairly impressive I would say. But what are her backgrounds in the legislative and executive departments? After her stint at the MTRCB, she ran as an independent senator in the election of 2013. With her surname as her biggest advantage, she won and secured a seat.

                  As a senator, Grace Poe promoted “film tourism” which encourages local and international film industries to shoot in the country. Another bill she filed is the “Sustenance for the Filipino Child” that aims to provide nutritious meals to children in primary and secondary education. Finally, “First 1000 days” was filed in order to support Filipino children in the first 1000 days after they were born. There. Those are the few notable things she did while in office. Though you might say to give her some slack, as she was only an incumbent senator since 2013 that, my friends, is exactly the point. You wouldn’t entrust the highest position of power in our land to a neophyte.

                 
With her surname on her back and a mere three years experience in the senate, what does Grace Poe have to offer? She claims that she wanted to pursue his father’s legacy? But what exactly was the late FPJ’s legacy in terms of progress and development? Her bid for the presidency seems to be grounded on non-existing achievements, in terms of public office of her late father.

                  Reading through her platform, I find myself laughing. These are theoretical proposals with no definite plans for execution and implementation. It seems to me, that majority of her platforms were recycled from several administrations. Let’s take into consideration her plans under the Legal Framework for Children, which aims for the restructuring of educational system in the Philippines through creation of programs that will ensure decent classrooms, high quality of education and conducive environment for learning. Since the dawn of an established government, those aforementioned are the goals to achieve development among nations. It has been said, rewritten and revised numerous times but the spirit remains the same. That same goal has been targeted by leaders with more practical and political experience than Poe, and those attempts, successful or not, leads us to where we are now in our educational system. Classrooms remain insufficient, quality of education is still lagging behind and a conducive learning environment remains flighty. For a neophyte vying for the top governmental position in the country, she could have presented us with better.                
                   

                  At the end of the day, same thing still remains, she has the least experience among all presidential candidates, her campaign platforms are not even at par with the others and her only steadfast reason to run is to resume the non existing legacy of her father.

                  Self-entitlement sure can bring you to places.