Grace Poe is a famous Filipino politician, businesswoman, educator and philanthropist who has served as a senator since 2013.
She is the adopted daughter of legendary actors Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces, considered by many to be the king and queen of Philippine cinema.
She was also a presidential candidate in the 2016 Philippine general election, placing third behind Rodrigo Duterte and Mar Roxas.
She is known as an independent voice in the Senate and a fighter for the rights and welfare of the people.
File
- Full name: Mary Grace Sonora Poe-Llamanzares
- Date of birth: September 3, 1968
- Age: 55 years old
- Female
- Place of birth: Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines
- Nationality: Philippines
- Occupation: Politician, businesswoman, educator, philanthropist
- Height: 5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
- Parents: Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (Fernando Poe Jr.) and Jesusa Sonora (Susan Roces) (adoptive parents)
- Siblings: Lovi Poe (half-sister)
- Spouse: Teodoro Misael Daniel V. Llamanzares (Neil Llamanzares)
- Children: Brian Poe Llamanzares, Hanna Poe Llamanzares, and Nikka Poe Llamanzares
- Relationship status: Married
- Net worth: 5 million USD
Early Life & Education
Grace Poe, currently 55 years old, was born on September 3, 1968 in Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines.
She was found abandoned in a church by the Sayong Militar, who then handed her over to Tessie Ledesma Valencia, a friend of Susan Roces.
Valencia then arranged for Grace to be picked up by Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces, who at that time had no adopted children.
Grace grew up with her adoptive parents and her half-sister Lovi Poe, daughter of Fernando Poe Jr. and his former partner Anna Marin. Grace attended Assumption College in Makati for elementary and middle school.
She then enrolled at the University of the Philippines Manila, where she majored in development studies. However, she did not complete her studies and moved to the United States with her family in 1988 after a failed coup attempt against then-President Corazon Aquino.
She continued her studies at Boston College in Massachusetts, earning a degree in political science in 1991. She also took several courses in Montessori education at the Montessori Teacher Education Center in New York.
Personal life
Grace Poe married Teodoro Misael Llamanzares, also known as Neil Llamanzares, a former United States Air Force officer, in 1991.
They met at Boston College, where Neil was also studying political science. They have three children: Brian, Hanna and Nikka.
Brian is a former CNN Philippines reporter and anchor who also served as his mother’s campaign spokesman during the 2016 presidential election.
Hanna graduated from Ateneo de Manila University, where she majored in European Studies. Nikka is a Diliman student at the University of the Philippines studying psychology.
Grace and her family have lived in America for several years, where she worked as a teacher, purchasing officer, product manager, and film producer.
She also became a US citizen in 2001. However, she decided to return to the Philippines in 2004, after the death of her adoptive father, who was also a presidential candidate in the 2004 Philippine general election.
She renounced her US citizenship in 2010 before becoming president of the Motion Picture and Television Rating and Classification Board (MTRCB).
Career
Grace Poe began her career as a teacher at a Montessori school in Virginia, where she taught preschoolers. She then worked as a purchasing officer at the U.S. Geological Survey, in charge of purchasing scientific equipment.
She also worked as a product manager at Scientific Atlanta, a telecommunications company, where she was in charge of marketing various products.
She later became a film producer, working with her adoptive father’s studio, FPJ Productions. She has produced several films such as Ang Panday, Pakners and Isusumbong Kita sa Tatay Ko.
She entered public service in 2010 when then-President Benigno Aquino III appointed her chairwoman of the MTRCB, the government agency that regulates and classifies movies and television shows in the Philippines.
She has implemented reforms and policies to protect the interests of viewers and the industry, such as adopting a new classification system, establishing a gender and development committee, and promoting pro-social programs. friendly towards children as well as conducting dialogue and consultation. with different stakeholders.
She ran for a seat in the Philippine Senate in 2013 as an independent candidate affiliated with then-President Aquino’s Team PNoy coalition.
She topped the senatorial race with more than 20 million votes, ahead of Loren Legarda, who had previously topped two elections.
As a senator, she served as chairwoman of various committees, such as the Senate Economics Committee, Senate Public Service Committee, Senate Banking, and Monetary and Financial Institutions Committee , and the Senate Mass Communications and Information Committee.
She has authored and sponsored several bills and resolutions on a variety of issues, such as the Freedom of Information Act, the Anti-Dynasty Act, the National Food Supply Program, the Service System Emergency Medicine, Philippine Space Development Act and Anti-Discrimination Act. .
She also ran for president in the 2016 Philippine general election but lost to Rodrigo Duterte. She ranked third in the official count with 9.1 million votes, behind Duterte and Mar Roxas.
She faced a number of challenges and controversies throughout her campaign, such as questions about her citizenship and residency, disqualification lawsuits against her, accusations of being a puppet of the Aquino administration and cyber attacks on her website and social media accounts.
She admitted defeat gracefully and vowed to continue serving her country as a senator. She is serving her second term as senator, which will end in 2025.
Net value
According to various sources, Grace Poe has an estimated net worth of around $5 million. She has earned her wealth from various careers such as teacher, purchasing officer, product manager, film producer, and politician.
She inherited some assets from her adoptive father, one of the most successful and influential actors in Philippine cinema.
Argumentative
Grace Poe has faced controversy and criticism throughout her career, especially during her 2016 presidential run.
Some of the most notable are:
Her citizenship and residence. She was allegedly ineligible to run for president because she was not a natural-born Philippine citizen and did not meet the 10-year residency requirement.
After that, she was also questioned about renouncing her American citizenship and using an American passport.
She defended herself by saying she was a founding father with the right to be considered a Philippine citizen under the 1935 Constitution and international law.
She also said she renounced her American citizenship in good faith and has lived in the Philippines since 2005, except for a few short trips abroad.
Her disqualifications. She was challenged by several petitioners who sought to disqualify her from the presidential race on the grounds of her nationality and residence.
She was initially disqualified by the Second Division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Comelec en banc. However, she appealed to the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in her favor and allowed her to run for president.
She said the disqualifications were politically motivated and aimed at depriving people of their right to choose their leaders.
She is said to be a puppet. She was accused of being a puppet of the Aquino administration and the Liberal Party, which supported her opponent, Mar Roxas. She is also linked to the controversial Danding Cojuangco, who is rumored to be her biological father and a known ally of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
She denied these allegations and said she was an independent candidate with her vision and platform for the country. She also said that she does not know who her biological parents are and that she respects and loves her adoptive parents, who raised her as her own child.
Her cyber attacks. She was the target of cyberattacks that attacked her website and social media accounts, as well as spreading fake news and propaganda against her. She said these cyber attacks were part of a systematic and coordinated effort to discredit her and manipulate public opinion.
Social Media
- Instagram handle: @sengracepoe
- Twitter name: @sengracepoe
