CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Liberal Party senatorial candidate Grace Poe said here she favored extending to same-sex couples the same benefits enjoyed by married ones, but stopped short of saying she is for same-sex marriage.
Poe impressed local media with her charm and wit in a press conference here recently, contrary to the media folks’ earlier perception she was banking merely on the popularity of her father, the late movie actor Fernando Poe Jr.
“She is very articulate and intelligent,” said SunStar- Pampanga reporter Rey Navales.
Asked on whether she favored same-sex marriage, Poe was elusive but noted her support for giving same-sex couples privileges enjoyed by married couples.
“For example, I think anyone should be able to name a partner as beneficiary in insurance,” she noted.
“I respect the third gender and I feel strongly against any form of discrimination against them,” she said.
But Poe said she did not favor divorce, pointing out that the country’s laws on marriage annulment is adequate in cases of failed marriages.
What is needed, she noted, if to make fees for annulment affordable even to the poor.
Poe, whose ranking in surveys among senatorial candidates was noted to have risen significantly, also said she plans to raise the pay of actors performing at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
She noted that an actor performing a minor role in a stage play in the CCP gets a measly P500, while those in major role get only P2,000.
Poe also vowed to provide free feeding of nutritious food for malnourished kids in government schools. “We used to have that in nutribuns,” she noted.
