CAVITE, Philippines – Presidential bet Grace Poe on Tuesday, May 3, hit the Aquino administration over its inefficiency, saying Filipinos are fed up with its failure to live up to its Daang Matuwid slogan.

With this statement, the senator expressed agreement with her closest rival, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who said that a vote for him is a vote for radical change and against continuity.

Poe said the public is seeking change because they are “disillusioned” with the government. Daang Matuwid, she said, is far from reality.

“Ang mga tao ay sawang sawa na. ang mga tao ay disillusioned dahil palaging ‘dinidiiin Daang Matuwid, Daang Matuwid samantalang nakikita naman natin na ang serbisyo palpak sa maraming ahensya ng gobyerno. Matagal ko nang pinupuna rin ‘yan,” Poe said in a chance interview in the province.

(The people are fed up. The people are disillusioned because they always emphasize Straigh Path, Straight Path when in fact we can see failed services by many government agencies, which I have long been pointing out.)

Daang Matuwid hardly prioritized the needs of the people on the ground, said Poe, who ran under the administration slate of Team PNoy in 2013. It was also President Benigno Aquino III who opened the doors of government service to her in 2010.

“Nakikita natin na di nagiging prayoridad ang pangangailangan ng ating mga kabababayan. Kaya para sa ating mga kababayan iniisip nila, ‘Bakit nyo sinasabi na napakabuti ninyo kung kinakalimutan ‘nyo naman kami?’” Poe said.

(We can see that the needs of the people are not prioritized. That’s why for them, they think, “Why do you say you are good when you keep on forgetting about us?”)

Poe, however, was quick to point out that she is not referring to a single person but to the manner of “governance.” In the Senate, Poe investigated the poor state of the mass railway systems in the country and has consistently used the issue to woo voters and hit the administration, especially administration standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II, the former transportations chief.

“Kaya ‘yon ang ibig sabihin siguro noon, hindi ko naman sinasabi nakadirekta sa isang tao kung hindi nakadirekta sa pamamalakad, ‘yun bang wala nang mabait kundi ang iilan,” Poe added.

(That could be the meaning of it. I’m not directing it to a single person but to the administration, it’s like no else is good other than them.)

Before Poe announced her presidential bid, she and Aquino met several times. The senator earlier said Aquino wanted her to be the vice presidential candidate of Roxas. In the end the neophyte senator, with no political machinery, decided to run for president with her friend Escudero.

Pre-election surveys show that Poe trails Duterte by 11 percentage points nationwide and is statistically tied with Roxas for 2nd place. – Rappler.com