Yes, Grace Poe says she dreamed of becoming a famous actress

Presidential Candidate Grace Poe visits and having a hot seat interview with the Inquirer reporters and editors in PDI office. INQUIRER PHOTO / JILSON SECKLER TIU

Yes, she once dreamed of becoming an actress like her famous parents, but one look at the mirror when she was a teenager convinced Sen. Grace Poe that she was not meant for show biz.

“I wanted to be an actor when I was young. I was a (movie) extra, right? But when I became a teenager (and) looked at the mirror,

(I) realized, hmm, never mind,” Poe said on Thursday when she guested at the Meet Inquirer Multimedia Forum.

Poe was the second presidential candidate after former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas to face Inquirer editors and reporters at the forum held in the run-up to the May 9 national elections.

Aside from having a self-effacing sense of humor, the senator proved herself quick on the draw when asked whom she thought could be the “next best President” if she were disqualified from running for the post on citizenship and residency grounds.

Poe declined to give an answer, saying that would be tantamount to an endorsement and the endorsed candidate might “join the disqualification effort.”

Hashtags

She was, however, ready for the game of hashtags, the light, fun ending to every Meet Inquirer Multimedia Forum, where guests, including President Aquino, were asked to describe people and things associated with them using popular hashtags.

“Some of these are really mean, ha!” Poe protested, laughing. The list included: #TigilanNyoAko, #Unfriend, #TantananNyoAko, #AsaKaPa, #AngKapal, and #AngMeanMo.

For #CantStopMe, the petite Poe chose to describe her little-known skill as a taekwondo blackbelter.

Tennis court was #PuppyLove because it was there where she met her husband, IT expert Neil Llamanzares, the senator said.

“It was love at first sight for me but not for him! He looked like Rico Yan,” Poe gushed, referring to the popular, young actor who died in 2002.

For #PushPaMore, she chose Ever Bilena, the matte lipstick brand that she uses  “to have a little more appeal.”

Max Alvarado and Paquito Diaz, character actors who had worked with her late father, action star Fernando Poe, Jr., fitted #AngMeanMo, according to the senator.

“My roles (in their movies) were either a neighbor of Alvarado or the daughter of Diaz. I got the hint,” Poe explained, giggling.

The 1980s matinee idol, Gabby Concepcion, was #LumayoKa because “that’s what you tell the Gabby Concepcions of this world. He is (too) cute!” Poe said.

Gesturing toward Inquirer president and CEO Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, the senator laughed: “When we were teenagers, Gabby, Alfie Anido and Albert Martinez were the (stars) who were really cute!”

But Poe’s #MulaSaPuso was reserved for President Benigno Aquino III, whom she described as responsible for opening the door to public service for her.  The President appointed Poe chair of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) in 2010 and endorsed her senatorial bid in 2013.

Though she did not campaign for Mr. Aquino when he ran in 2010, Poe said she voted for him.

The senator’s rumored half-brother, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., was #WalangIwanan. Poe owned up to inadvertently fueling the rumors that she and Marcos had the same father when she addressed him as “bro,” short for “brother” during her early days at the Senate.

#Ninong

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, her father’s best friend, is simply #Ninong, the only hashtag that Poe didn’t choose from the prepared list.

For #AsaKaPa, Poe chose several people who had cases questioning her residency and citizenship, among them Rizalino David, martial law press secretary Francisco “Kit” Tatad, and lawyer Estrella Elamparo.

Administration standard-bearer Mar Roxas was #UMakeMeHappy, Poe said, in what could be a sarcastic take on allegations that the Liberal Party was behind the disqualification cases against her.

A rival presidential candidate, Vice President Jejomar Binay, was #TalagaLang, while Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was #ConfidentiallyBeautifulWithAHeart, instead of #ConfidentlyBeautifulWithAHeart.

If the Metro Rail Transit and Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya were a good fit for #Nakakaloka, Poe said Borgen, her Belgian Mallinois, was #Lablablab.