POE SAYS SHE IS PROUD OF CLEAN CAMPAIGN

Wrapping up what she proudly calls a clean campaign, Sen. Grace Poe will hold her miting de avance where has often sought spiritual refuge and where her bid for the presidency officially began--at the Plaza Miranda in Manila, across the Quiapo Church.

Poe, the lone independent presidential candidate, said the venue may not be big enough to accommodate all her supporters but she insisted on it because the place had a special meaning for her.

"Doon nag-umpisa e. Kahit 'nung (tumakbo ako as) senator, doon, tapos palagi akong nasa Quiapo Church," said Poe, who topped the 2013 senatorial race with over 20 million votes, the highest ever cast by Filipino voters for a national candidate. She was also an independent candidate then.

"Marami ngang nagsasabi 'naku, baka hindi tayo magkasya lahat doon,' pero simboliko 'yon para sa akin. Hindi lang ito parang pagtitipon ng miting de avance. Ito ay para sa atin ding mensahe na ang ginagawa natin ay para sa tao at naaayon sa gusto rin ng Diyos," she said.

Poe, the first foundling to run for president, said she is proud that she stood her ground and ran a clean and honest campaign in the last three months.

While she often had to defend herself from criticisms and malicious propaganda, the senator said she never attacked her rivals personally, only challenged them on issues.

"Mapayapa na ako e. Kasi, alam mo, ang laban na ito ay hindi naman para sa aking sarili. Naihahayag ko ang mga isyu sa ating mga kababayan. Ipinaglaban ko sila maski man lang sa aking plataporma," Poe said in a media interview in Pandi, Bulacan.

"Masaya kasi kahit paano nagawa ko ang nararapat. Hindi ako nanira ng kapwa. Maayos ang ating kampanya," she said.

Poe is campaigning in Bulacan today with movie star Coco Martin, who reprises the role of Poe's adoptive father Fernando Poe Jr. in the primetime TV series "Ang Probinsyano." Martin has expressed support for the senator's anti-poverty programs.

With two days to go, Poe remains hopeful that people would be enlightened and choose her "Gobyernong may Puso" over a government that is run by a "berdugo" or a corrupt politician, or an unimpressive non-performer.

Poe, who believes in surveys as a guide, recalled that she barely made it to the Magic 12 in 2013 surveys but she emerged as a topnotcher in the senatorial race.

"May tsansa pa rin tayo sapagkat namumulat ang marami. Nakita nating sa NCR tumataas tayo ulit at saka sa Luzon. Kaya patuloy lamang ang ating ginagawa. Sa huli sila naman ang magdedesisyon. Kaya kung ano man ang desisyon na 'yan, handa na akong tanggapin," she said.

Over 54 million Filipinos have registered to vote on May 9.

In the 2010 presidential elections, 75 percent of all registered voters trooped to the polling precincts--the highest voter turnout since 1978. A similar or even higher engagement is expected next week.