Surname boon, bane

ILOILO CITY—Having the surname Aquino is both boon and bane, according to a cousin of President Benigno Aquino who has declared his intention to run for senator under the ruling Liberal Party.

Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV, the President’s first cousin, said being an Aquino is both an advantage and disadvantage for him.

He said it is an advantage because the popularity of the President and the Aquino family could rub off on him, but a disadvantage because “the enemies of the President are now my enemies as well.”

The 35-year-old Bam said he hoped voters would look beyond his surname and judge him by his record as chair of the National Youth Commission and MicroVentures, a firm that promotes micro financing for small-scale entrepreneurs. Nestor Burgos Jr. and Doris C. Bongcac, Inquirer Visayas