“We are aware of the sacrifices my sisters and I may have to make as a family if she’d run, but we won’t stop her from achieving her goal to help our country, which she loves so much,” he says.
Brian became controversial when he showed up at the presscon of Jasmine Curtis Smith and he was accused of being a user. “She’s been my crush since I saw her on a billboard on Katipunan Avenue. She was then studying at Ateneo, like me, and I thought I’d meet her at the campus, but I never did. So when I saw her at the Manila Pen, I asked someone to introduce me to her. I have no intention of using her or anyone. It’ s not my style.”
At the recent Global Consultation on Child Welfare about Adoption: A Lifelong Journey and Commitment, Sen. Grace shed tears during her speech as she was able to relate to it.
“Naalala ko kasi ang mga magulang ko (FPJ and Susan Roces),” she says. “When they adopted me, there’s no question they did so out of pure love. Inaruga nila ako na walang ibang motibo kundi mahalin ako na hindi nila kadugo ngunit itinuring nilang tunay na anak. Never nila akong tinawag na ampon. My advocacy of adoption is therefore a homage to them, and my love letter, returning a love that cannot even begin to equal the love that they had poured on this foundling from the start, which left no doubt in my mind that I was unquestionably, unconditionally and truly their daughter, period.”
Because she cried, some quarters made it an issue, saying she’s trying to be a drama queen to attract more sympathizers. “Tanggap ko nang lahat ng gagawin ko, binabantayan para mabatikos ako. Hindi ko na lang pinapansin ang ganyang mga pagtuligsa dahil alam kong wala akong masamang intensiyon.”
She’s now sponsoring Senate Bill 2892 that aims to make the process of registering a foundling faster to make adoption of a foundling like her easier.
