SENATOR Grace Poe said Tuesday there was no truth to a report claiming she had withdrawn from the presidential race in 2016.
Poe said she was told about an e-mail message being circulated saying she was no longer running for President.
“That is not true. We are continuously working to convey our message to the people about what we can do to help our countrymen,” Poe said.
She said it was hard to speculate who was behind the claim that she had withdrawn from the presidential race.
“There can be several sources, and I’m thankful I was given the opportunity to say there is no truth to it,” Poe said.
But instead of wasting her time tracing the source of the rumor, Poe said, she would rather focus on the programs that would address the many problems facing the people like the bullet scam at the airport.
The email message, which came from a Liza Cabigting and written in Tagalog with the title “Pamamaalam,” used Poe’s email ad—grace_poe16@yahoo.comad—grace_poe16@yahoo.com.
“To all those who love me, I want to tell you that I will no longer run for President in the coming elections. This decision pains me but I need to do this for my family and my loved ones,” the e-mail said.
Meanwhile, a recent survey in Pangasinan, the third most vote-rich province in the country, showed that if the elections were held today Poe would be a mile away from the other presidential candidates.
The poll was conducted by Data Advisors, a Quezon City-based private polling firm that surveyed 1,500 voters in three cities and 44 municipalities in Pangasinan on Sept. 25 to 29, 2015.
The Pulse Asia Ulat sa Bayan survey of 2,400 respondents in mid-September also showed Poe maintaining her lead over the other presidential candidates with a rating of 26 percent followed by former Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II with 20 percent and Vice President Jejomar Binay with 19 percent.
In the survey conducted by the Magdalo party-list from Oct. 20 to 22, 2015, 43 percent of the 3,000 respondents chose Poe followed by Binay who received 27 percent, Roxas who received 17 percent, and Duterte who came in fourth with 16 percent.
The survey found that 44.5 percent of Pangasinan would vote for Poe followed by Binay (24.4 percent), Roxas (18.3 percent) and Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (11.1 percent).
Poe led all the presidential candidates in all the legislative districts but was strongest in the vote-rich 3rd district (49.7 percent) that comprises the towns of Bayambang, Malasiui, Calasiao, Mapandan, Sta. Barbara and San Carlos City.
