Senators back Bam Aquino’s Senate run

MALACAÑANG-friendly senators defended the addition of presidential cousin, Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV, to next year’s senatorial elections, saying the 35-year-old social entrepreneur will bring fresh ideas in the legislature.

Senator Ralph Recto, a member of the ruling Liberal Party (LP), said he would be willing to nominate Aquino to be one of the official senatorial candidates of the party headed by President Benigno Aquino III.

"The LP is like an old Mercedes Benz that needs a fresh detailing to give it a classic but youthful glow. The LP must welcome and even embrace the entry of a new face like Bam," he said.

Twelve seats are up for grabs for the May 2013 midterm polls as the initial pool of candidates include re-electionist senators, congressmen and other government officials once allied with Aquino’s political rival, detained former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Bam confirmed over the weekend that he was joining the Senate race with the "blessing" of the President, who has yet to select among the 15-20 names reportedly being considered to form the administration ticket.

A former chairperson of the National Youth Commission, Bam was acknowledged for his advocacy in providing microfinance opportunities to women through the social enterprise Hapinoy, an organization that provides business coaching, leadership training and store branding to over 10,000 sari-sari stores nationwide.

"His credentials are outstanding. If he wins, he will probably be the first summa cum laude graduate in the Senate,” Senator Francis Pangilinan, who is set to leave the chamber in 2013, said.

Bam graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1999 with a degree in Management Engineering, and was both summa cum laude and valedictorian. He also graduated as valedictorian in elementary and high school.

In his senior year, Bam was the president of the Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng Ateneo, the university student council.

Bam is the son of Paul Aquino, the youngest brother of the assassinated former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)