Vice Pres. Jejomar Binay and Sen. Grace Poe, two of the country’s presidential aspirants for the 2016 national elections were involved in a heated exchanged during the second round of the presidential debates held in Cebu City on Sunday night. According to VP Binay, Sen. Grace Poe is not a real Filipino, “Hindi ka tunay na Pilipino.” “Andito ka nga…nangulimbat ka naman ng pera” Binay stated.
The verbal heated exchange of the Senator and the Vice President started when VP Binay was asked if he can be a president capable of seeing his son, former Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, convicted if the latter is found guilty of graft.
VP Binay answered in the affirmative and insisted that his government will uphold the rule of law but Sen. Grace Poe, countered if Binay is willing to advocate the rule of law, he must first be ready to obey the simple guidelines of the debate.
The Vice President became a hot topic on social media during the Sunday’s debate after it was delayed due to a misunderstanding on whether or not Binay was allowed to bring notes with him onstage.
During the debate, Sen. Grace Poe asks: “Ang tanong ito: rule of law, pero mayroon din tayong mga rule ngayon na dapat ay sinunod. Siguro maganda ring pahiwatig ang paggalang sa batas at paggalang din sa mga naging regulasyon ng debateng ito,” she said.
“Bigyan na natin ng benefit of the doubt ang ating mayor, siguro nga mali ang nasabi niyo sa kanya. Pero para sa akin, sana nakadalo siya sa Senado para mag-eksplika ng kanyang punto kung wala naman talagang itatago.”
Instead of responding to the question, VP Binay went on the offensive and lambasted the neophyte senator for forsaking her Filipino roots when she became a citizen of the United States of American between 2001 and 2010.
“Lagi mong sinasabi na ikaw ay tunay na Pilipino. Paano ka magiging tunay na Pilipino e sumampa ka para maging Amerikano… Ikinakahiya mo ang pinanggalingan mo,” he accused. Sen. Grace Poe responded: “Sinasabi mo, ikaw ang number one na nagpro-protekta sa mga OFW pero sinasabi mong ang isang nakatira sa ibang bansa, hindi na pwedeng bumalik dito para manilbihan?”
Binay attempted to rebut Poe but she continued insisting that an honest life abroad is better than staying in the country and amassing ill-gotten wealth. “Hindi lang po sa kulay iyan. Nasa pagmamahal. Andito ka nga nakatira sa bansa, pero nangulimbat ka naman ng pera,” Poe said.
Here’s the Remaining Heated Exchange Between Sen. Grace Poe & VP Binay:
“Conspiracy saan? Kami, wala kaming pera, wala kaming makinarya. Ikaw, may pera, may makinarya,” Poe quipped.
Binay, at the same time, said: “Basta ikaw, hindi ka tunay na Pilipino kasi ikinahiya. When you took your oath of allegiance for you to be naturalized as a citizen, [you said], ‘I abjure ikinahihiya ko ang pinanggalingan.”
“Madame Senator, kung magbintang ka, parang ako’y nahatulan na,” Binay told Poe.
Poe fired back: “Ikaw ba ang sinabi kong nangungulimbat?”
Their verbal sparring stopped when called out by the debate moderator, Luchi Cruz Valdez of TV5.