Senator Grace Poe announced her 2016 presidential campaign at her alma mater, the University of the Philippines’ Bahay ng Alumni in Diliman, Quezon City last September 16, 2015. Let’s get to know more about the senator.
Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe Llamanzares was born on September 3, 1968 in Jara, Iloilo Philippines. She was adopted daughter of the the veteran Philippine actor Fernando Poe Jr. and veteran actress Susan Roces.
She finished high school at Assumption-Makati, where she excelled in oratorical competitions and was named Captain of the Assumption Debating Team. She studied at the University of the Philippines Manila from 1986 to 1988, where she majored Developmental Studies. She became a college scholar in 1987. Throughout her education, Poe became the chairman of the College Freshman Assembly and Sophomore Batch Representative.
Poe moved to Boston College in Massachusetts in her third year and took the degree of political science. As she finished her degree, she spent most of her life in Fairfax, Virginia.
She is married to Teodoro Misael “Neil” Vera Llamanzares. They have three children, namely Brian, Hanna, and Nika.
She served as the former Chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, more popularly known by its acronyms, MTRCB and was elected as a Senator in 2013.
Poe ran for a Senate seat in 2013 where she garnered 20,337, 327 votes. She was the first female Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs. She is the Chairman of the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media and the Sub-Committee on Public Services (Transport Issues); Vice-Chairman of the Committees on Agriculture and Food and Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation.
Poe has filed 68 bills and 130 resolutions covering issues on social justice, child nutrition, industrial competitiveness, ecological protection, government modernization and professionalization, and graft and corruption.
As a presidential candidate, her campaign platforms include poverty alleviation, opportunities for the children as well as electoral reform.
Her plan for poverty alleviation has the following priority areas: sustainable inclusive growth, focus on family, mobilizing goodwill, good governance, resource generation and use, peaceful communities and anti-poverty culture.
Poe also believes in providing opportunities for the Filipino children so that they can grow up to become productive citizens. Her plans for the Filipino children include institutional support for children with an emphasis on giving a good future to them.
Finally, Senator Grace Poe plans to institute electoral reforms which aims to rekindle the people’s trust in the electoral system as well as ensuring that said system reflect a more democratic result.
Reference: http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php/Grace_Poe
http://gracepoe-greenmonitor.weebly.com/platform.html
(written by Mia Caragay, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Lovely Ann Cruz)