Poe sees silver lining in smear campaign
There is a silver lining in the black propaganda drive allegedly being waged against the presidential candidacy of Senator Grace Poe and her camp look at it as the brighter side of the sinister plot.
Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian, acting as Poe’s spokesman, admitted in a media forum that the smear drive against Poe and even her family is clearly well-organized and unrelenting but the independent presidential candidate would rather not point to any camp as the mastermind.
“We are aware of this but at the back of all black propaganda is a silver lining,” said Gatchalian.
“Because of the barrage of black propaganda, we are being given free airtime in the media outlets to clarify the issues. That’s the silver lining. We are given more reason to speak out about our platform,” he said.
The filing of a series of cases questioning her citizenship and residency as part of the smear campaign is being investigated by Poe’s lawyer, admitted Gatchalian.
However, the local chief executive said they are confident the cases will be dismissed.
The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay, one of Poe’s main rival for the presidency, has decried the Senate probe and criminal cases recently filed against him and members of his family as part of a well-financed campaign to vilify his character and derail his presidential bid.
Gatchalian said Poe will never “use those tactics” against her rivals.
He also assured that Poe will not “point an accusing finger” at the Liberal Party or any other rival groups as the culprit.
“Hindi naming gawain ang magturo,” Gatchalian told reporters during the Usaping Balita News Forum in Quezon City.
He added: “We are not going to use those tactics. We are just going to remind the people that they should not succumb to the black propaganda, smear campaign or squid tactics employed against our candidate.”
However, Gatchalian confessed that one misgiving that bothers Poe is the alleged effort by detractors to place her family, including her two minor children, in the middle of the smear drive.
“Nalulungkot kami na pati ang pamilya ni Sen. Poe ay nadadamay, hindi naman po sila ang kandidato. Pati yung mga menor de edad na mga anak (two minors) ni Sen. Poe ay dinadamay sa usaping ito. Wala namang silang ambisyon na tumakbo for public office,” he said.
“If you look at it, lahat ng (all the) allegations nila parepareho ang sinasabi (are the same). If one goes to court, you are trying to clarify something, but they did not stop there, there are no new allegations, they are pretty much the same,” said Gatchalian.