Fernando Poe, Jr.

Fernando Poe, Jr. (August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004) was an iconic and hugely popular Filipino actor. Late in his life he ran an unsuccessful bid for president in the 2004 Philippine election, losing to incumbent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He was also known as "FPJ" and as "Da King".

Presidential bid

Fernando Poe Jr., was the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP)'s candidate for the 2004 presidential election. A well-respected public figure in his movie career and known for his charitable but unpublicized endeavours, he targeted his candidacy at the same poor and downtrodden class whom he championed in his movies, promising to deal with the problems of the Philippines' large lower class society.

Related Topics:
Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino - 2004 - Presidential election

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Poe accepted the nomination in December, 2003 and was to be the standard opposition bearer for the Philippine's 2004 presidential election. Some accounts portray him as a reluctant candidate who was only prevailed upon to accept the nomination by his best friend, deposed former President Joseph Estrada. But other accounts say he was convinced to cast his bid for the presidency because of the overwhelming crowd that gathered for the first rally of the FPJ for President Movement at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Related Topics:
December - 2003 - Joseph Estrada - Pasay City

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One of the primary issues that Poe faced during the campaign period was the disqualification case filed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and later elevated to the Supreme Court about his citizenship. Even though he was born in the Philippines, lawyers who filed the disqualification case argued that Poe was not a natural-born Filipino, a requirement for a presidential candidate, because he was an illegitimate child who should have followed the citizenship of his American mother. They argued that Poe's father was not a Filipino either because records indicated that Poe's father was a Spanish national. The Supreme Court voted 8-5, with one abstention, in favor of Poe. The high court upheld the previous Comelec ruling and declared Poe was a "natural-born citizen and qualified to run." Supreme Court Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. said a preponderance of evidence established that Poe's father was a Filipino because Poe's grandfather, Lorenzo, had not declared allegiance to Spain by virtue of the Treaty of Paris and the Philippine Bill of 1902. Davide said that, in the case of an illegitimate child whose father is a Filipino and whose mother is an alien, proof of paternity is enough for the child to take after the citizenship of his putative father.

Related Topics:
Citizenship - Hilario Davide, Jr. - Treaty of Paris

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Political critics charged Poe of being heavily linked to political interest groups, and tried to compare his candidacy to that of Estrada, who ran on a similar platform, but was deposed from office and put under house arrest after numerous corruption scandals. While he was initially seen as the frontrunner in the presidential campaign, he ended up with only 9,158,999 tallied votes, against incumbent Gloria M. Arroyo's 9,674,597 votes. Poe's supporters, which include the deposed Estrada's supporters, viewed the election results as flawed, and were still under legal protest by Fernando Poe Jr and his vice-presidential running mate, former Senator Loren Legarda. Eventually, his poll protest was thrown out by the Supreme Court acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal. Legarda's protest is still pending in the tribunal.

Related Topics:
Loren Legarda

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~