Senate honors ‘Queen of PH movies’ Susan Roces

MANILA – The Senate on Monday adopted Senate Resolution No. (SRN) 1002 expressing its profound sympathy and sincere condolences on the death of Jesus Purificacion Levi Sonora Poe popularly known as Susan Roces, mother of Senator Grace Poe.

In his speech at the resumption of the Senate session, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Roces should be honored as an inspiration to a lot of Filipinos and a treasure to the Philippine movie industry.

“Today we honor the life of a movie icon, a true Filipina, a national treasure. However, it has been said that the best speech delivered in occasions like this do not emanate from the speakers, but from the deed or the legacy of the person being honored,” said Sotto, sponsored of SRN 1002.

Sotto said it is appropriate to describe Roces as the Queen of Philippine movies for receiving multiple FAMAS and many more other awards during her entire 70 years of show business career.

Coming from the same industry, Sotto also described Roces, wife of the late movie icon Fernando Poe Jr., as being sincere, warm, and kind-hearted.

“In show business like politics, true and good friends are hard to come by. Thus, my wife Helen and I are so fortunate to be friends with Ronnie and Susan and her death is such a sad news for our family,” Sotto added.

Meanwhile, SRN 1002’s co-sponsor, Senator Ralph Recto, attested to Roces’ kindness and dignity toward the people she had worked with.

“A colleague has lost her mother, the people an icon, and the nation is all the poorer for it,” Recto said in his privilege.

For his part, Senator Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said he did not know until recently that Roces, coming from Bacolod City, is his “kasimanwa (Visayan term for coming from the same town)” saying his family originally came from Negros Occidental, the province where Bacolod City is located.

“As a matter of fact, I had a conversation yesterday with Mayor Alby Benitez and since I am helping him build the Bacolod City Hospital, we were thinking of naming a wing after Tita Susan Roces and that would be a fitting tribute to her ‘kababayans’ in Bacolod City,” he said.

Senators Joel Villanueva and Ramon Revilla Jr. also made their manifestations, taking into consideration similar SRNs 1003, 1004, and 1005 and making all Senate members as co-sponsors and co-authors of the resolution, except for Poe.

In her manifestation, Poe appreciated the solidarity and support of her colleagues saying it is comforting to be surrounded by friends despite her mother’s wake is ongoing.

“And also to finish my work which my mom would always encourage me no matter what, to finish what I started,” she said.

Poe earlier announced that her mother died peacefully in the United States on May 20. She was 80.