Poe takes surprise lead in senatorial race

Manila: Political analysts have attributed the surprising lead of newcomer Mary Grace Poe Llamanzares in the senatorial race to endorsements by popular personalities such as President Benigno Aquino, Vice President Jejomar Binay and her mother Susan Roces — a popular actress in the 60s.

She also owes her popularity to her father, the late actor Fernando Poe who lost the presidential race to Gloria Arroyo in 2010.

“Apparently, the family name Poe has magic and she became number one,” political analyst Prospero de Vera said in a TV interview. Noting the impact of her late political campaign with her actress mother, de Vera said: “I think that was a big factor too.”

President Aquino also campaigned for Poe. Although Poe ran as an independent candidate, she was endorsed by both the administration and opposition parties.

She was included in the campaign of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), led by Vice President Binay and former president Joseph Estrada, still a formidable king-maker with mass appeal. Estrada, a former actor, was a close family friend of Poe and Roces.

Vindication for Poe

Her standing in the senatorial race could be seen as a vindication for Poe, who was once discredited as a presidential candidate despite his huge popularity in 2010, de Vera said.

After Poe’s death due to a cardiovascular disease in 2004, his wife Roces joined a campaign that called for Arroyo’s ouster for alleged cheating. Although the campaign included a formidable team composed of Estrada and former president Corazon Aquino, it did not result in Arroyo’s ouster.

All surveys had predicted that Senator Loren Legarda would emerge winner in the senatorial race. “I think the surveys did not cover other places,” said de Vera, but could not identify where Poe’s unprecedented victory could be attributed to. She reached a one-million lead over Legarda on Tuesday, a day after the elections.

Pre-election surveys done by Pulse Asia ranked her third and fourth; the Social Weather Stations placed her fifth. Both of them have yet not released their exit polls which were done right after Monday’s elections.