MANILA, Philippines – “What would my father do?”

This is what Senator Grace Poe keeps asking herself as she decides on her political plans for 2016 – whether to run for President, for Vice President, or not to run at all.

The job would have been easier for her if her father, the late action star Fernando Poe Jr, were still alive.

“Of course it would be easier pero para sa akin kasi kung ano desisyon ko kinokonsulta ko rin kung anong karanasan ko kasama ang aking tatay. Ano bang gagawin niya sa sitwasyon na iyon? Ano sasabihin niya sa kinikilos ko?” Poe told reporters on Tuesday, August 4.

(Of course it would be easier [if he were here] but for me, whatever decision I make I consult my experiences with my father. What would he do in this situation? What would he say about my actions?)

Poe said she is contemplating her next moves, as she does not want to taint her father’s name. After all, she admitted, her “capital” is the legacy of FPJ, who is well loved by the under-privileged.

Like father, like daughter?

The senator said she thinks of her father more often now that she is at a crossroads. 

In 2004, FPJ, who had zero political experience, ran against then-incumbent President Gloria Arroyo. He lost in what was widely believed to be rigged elections.

Like her father, Poe’s citizenship is also being questioned even before she declares her candidacy. Critics also question her capability to run the country, citing her inexperience in government service.

“Mas lalo ko siya naaalala. At pag naiisip ko ang kanyang pinagdaanan mas lalo akong naaawa. Kahit papaano ako’y mas may karanasan sa gobyerno, yung tatay ko pumasok dito talagang bagung-bago, talagang di niya alam ang larong madumi,” Poe said.

(I remember him all the more now. And I pity him more when I think of what he went through in 2004. I had at least some government experience. My father entered politics without any idea how dirty this game is.)

Poe is leading in national presidential preference surveys, followed by Vice President Jejomar Binay and the ruling Liberal Party standard-bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II. – Rappler.com