Senator Grace Poe on Friday, August 20, remembered her late father, actor Fernando Poe Jr., on the latter's 82nd birth anniversary.
"Happy birthday, papa!" Poe said in a social media post.
Poe also expressed her gratitude to Filipinos for not forgetting her father.
"Nagpapasalamat tayo sa ating mga kababayang hindi nakakalimot sa kanya, mula noon hanggang ngayon (We thank our countrymen who always remember him, from then until now)," she said.
"Patuloy sana siyang maging magsilbing inspirasyon na magsikap at maging isang mabuting Pilipino (I hope he continues to be an inspiration to work hard and be good Filipino)," she added.
For her part, the senator said she is inspired by Fernando to help poor and vulnerable communities in the country.
“It is FPJ’s unwavering spirit to timely assist the poor and helpless which empowers me to continue the tradition he started for the masa he loved and who loved him back,” she in her statement.
"As my father always reminded, ‘It is important for us to be the ones to extend a helping hand to pull our kababayans out of difficult situations,’” she added.
She said that through the FPJ-inspired foundation "Panday Bayanihan," she gave out aid in cash and in kind to drivers, displaced workers, farmers, fishermen, disaster-affected poor residents and frontliners.
Earlier this month, Poe visited her father's hometown Pangasinan and distributed relief goods to around 2,000 community frontliners, including barangay watchmen.
Fernando Poe Jr., born August 20, 1939, was known as “The King of Philippine Movies or simply “Da King". He was conferred the National Artist distinction for Film posthumously for his contributions as an actor, director, writer and producer.