Former Sen. Bam Aquino
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA, Philippines — Former Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV has renewed his ties with supporters of former Vice President Leni Robredo for his plan to run in the 2025 midterm elections.
Aquino on Friday graced the block screening at SM Pampanga of “And So It Begins,” a documentary directed by Ramona Diaz on the 2022 election campaign-turned-grassroots movement spurred by Robredo, who ran for the presidency with running mate, former Sen. Francis Pangilinan.
Robredo garnered more than 15 million votes, losing to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who totaled more than 31 million votes at the presidential race. Robredo has since continued her advocacies as chairperson of the nongovernmental organization, Angat Buhay Foundation.
READ: Bam Aquino, Kiko Pangilinan to join Senate race as independent bets
Speaking to a full house in the screening sponsored by Angat Pampanga Inc., Aquino said Robredo filed her candidacy with no certainty of winning. He compared Robredo to his uncle, former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., who returned from exile in 1983 without knowing the outcome of rejoining the anti-Marcos dictatorship.
Aquino, who was Robredo’s campaign manager, said, “All she had was a deep belief and faith that, together with her fellow Filipinos, our country will be in a better state.”
As what the documentary has shown, he stressed the post-campaign sentiment among supporters was that they “became better Filipinos.”
“Even in the face of defeat, nothing was wasted,” he said.
Ready to campaign
In an interview on Friday, Aquino told Inquirer that he, Pangilinan, lawyer Chel Diokno and Sen. Risa Hontiveros are ready to campaign their way to the Senate.
He said education and anticorruption will be his major platforms. In May this year, he announced he is still running under the Liberal Party though he is chair of the new political party, Katipunan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino.
Aquino, 47, was senator from 2013 to 2019. He lost his re-election bid in 2019. He is credited for the passage of 40 laws, which include the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act and the Filipino Sign Language Act.