There has been a frenzied search for the other love children of action star and opposition presidential aspirant Fernando Poe Jr.

"It's a fair game. Several editors have asked gofers (who were told go for the story) to look deeper into the private life of the actor," said one reporter requesting anonymity.

The search began following his candid admission that he has a 22-year old son out of wedlock with movie starlet Ana Marin with whom he had worked in the late 70s.

The child, 22-year old son named Ronian, is also known as Little Ronnie (Poe's nickname).

He is about to graduate as an advertising student at Manila's De La Salle University, a prestigious Catholic school.

In the late 70s, Poe and the starlet starred in a film entitled Mark of Tondo (Manila's version of Hollywood's Harlem)."

"I am proud of him (son Ronian). He is about to finish his schooling while I have not finished my schooling," Poe said, adding, "My wife Susan (Roces) had accepted this. It's a non issue because it is the truth."

Marin, now an understudy in a stage presentation of Elective Dysfunction, a political satire which will be showed soon, has been married to Antonio Leviste, the twin brother of the husband of Poe's running mate Loren Legarda.

Reacting to the news, Roces, an actress known to have said earlier, "I don't advertise my sorrows," faced the issue straightforward. She and Poe were married on December 25, 1968, and they remained childless.

"I know all about it. This was a long time ago. This was a chapter in our life and it would be wrong to deny it," Roces said.

Many predict Roces will have to continuously stand by her man every time a nosey reporter reports on his dalliances in the past.

Sources said Poe has another love child by another movie starlet named Monica, who was born in 1960. The former starlet and Poe's love child have been living in Hawaii. Another source said that Poe has another love child by a comedian actress. Poe and Roces, a famous couple in the film industry, had an adopted child named Mary Grace, who is now living in the US.

The child belonged to Roces' younger sister Rosemarie. Many alleged that former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, also reputed for having sired many love children, had fathered Poe's adopted daughter.

Poe has been called Misteryoso (Mister Mystery) because he was able to guard his privacy while being well entrenched in the movie industry. He denied having paid movie scribes not to write about his "off the record" statements.