Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)— If she gets elected president, Sen. Grace Poe would be the first foundling to take the highest post in the land.
Despite her biological parents reportedly abandoning her, she vowed to give back to people who nurtured her by taking her oath of office as president at the Jaro Cathedral—where it all began.
For Poe, it would be the most perfect time to give back to people who nurtured her.
“Ako ay babalik dito sa Jaro, sa harapan ng katedral, at manunumpa dito, bilang pangulo ninyo, sa Iloilo,” Poe said before thousands of supporters at her political rally in Jaro, Iloilo on Tuesday night (February 16).
“Pangulo ako para sa buong bansa pero hindi natin makakalimutan ang ating pinanggalingan, at kung hindi dahil sa inyo, wala ako dito.”
[Translation: I will return here in Jaro, and will take my oath as your president in front of the cathedral. I am president for the whole country, but I will never forget that without you I would not be here.]
Also read: Poe goes back to hometown in Iloilo, brings her mom to campaign
Before speaking at the political rally, Poe spent a few minutes of prayer inside the Jaro Cathedral.
The family of Edgardo Militar, the man who had found her in the church, was there in the rally to show support for the senator.
The huge crowd that came to welcome her, Poe said, would prove that she is a daughter of Iloilo and that Ilonggos have her back.
Poe’s mother calls her biological parents, ‘good people’
Poe’s adoptive mother, 74-year old movie icon Susan Roces, delivered the most impassioned speech of the night.
Roces, the wife of well-esteemed actor Fernando Poe Jr (FPJ), is not new to campaign. Before he died, FPJ ran for president in 2004 and lost by a slim margin to former president and now Pampanga second district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Also read: Grace Poe says FPJ continues to inspire her
She lashed out at her daughter’s critics, particularly those trying to block her candidacy.
“Sa pagiging masigasig niya na ipagpapatuloy ang kanyang laban, dahil ang pinaglalaban nya, hindi lang sarili niya kundi ang karapatan ng mga foundlings, at lahat ng karapatan ng mga inaapi,” Roces said.
[Translation: She fervently fights this battle, not for her, but for the rights of the foundlings and for those who are oppressed.]
Roces thanked her daughter’s biological family, who remains anonymous, for choosing to keep her adopted daughter alive.
She even called them “good people,” for trusting the newborn’s care to the church.
CNN Philippines’ David Santos contributed to this report.
