Poe: I sought no endorsement

PRESIDENTIAL candidate Grace Poe sought no endorsement when she met with former President Fidel Ramos at the RP Development Building in Makati City Wednesday night­—or a little over three months before the May 9 elections. 

“It had nothing to do with any endorsement,” the senator said. She said all those seeking the presidency usually sought Ramos’ advice on the issues confronting the nation.

Poe said she and Ramos always talked since Ramos was also from Pangasinan like her adoptive father, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr.

She said she remembered Ramos telling her that, as a former president, he really did not favor giving endorsements.

“I mean, he’s no longer in a position to immediately make a choice,”  Poe said. 

She said Ramos gave her a book and then told her stories about her adoptive father. He also gave her a jacket. 

She said yes when asked if she would get Ramos as an adviser. 

She said she would also appoint Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, another presidential candidate, as her “crime czar” if she was elected president. 

“He has the capacity to solve crimes within three to six months,” said Poe when asked if she would offer any position to Duterte in exchange for his plan to appoint her secretary of either Social Welfare or the Transport Department if he was elected president. Macon Ramos-Araneta