Bam Aquino sees great mandate after making it in Senate Magic 12

Bam Aquino | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of Bam Aquino

MANILA, Philippines — Katipunan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino candidate and former Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV sees a “great mandate” in him placing second in the partial and unofficial vote count for the Senate race.

Throughout his comeback bid, the former senator often lagged behind in pre-election surveys, with the last Social Weather Stations (SWS) before Monday’s polls showing him at rank 16.

“Now, our mandate is great,” Aquino said in Filipino in a video message on Tuesday evening.

“We will ensure that we seriously take the job of being a senator of the Republic of the Philippines and we will work to uplift Filipino families,” he added in Filipino.

READ: Bam Aquino gets into Senate ‘Magic 12’ despite his doubts

Aquino has 20,631,471 votes so far, according to the tally on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) transparency server as of 5:16 p.m. on Tuesday.

He was once senator from 2013 to 2019. His first reelection bid was unsuccessful and he opted not to run in 2022 to manage then-Vice President Leni Robredo’s presidential campaign.

For the 2025 race, he ran as a tandem with Liberal Party senatorial candidate and fellow former Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.

Pangilinan likewise often fell short on pre-election surveys but the partial and unofficial vote count now has him ranking fifth.

READ: Bam Aquino, Kiko Pangilinan pin comeback hopes on old ‘Pink Magic’

“When we started, we were so far behind. But, slowly, we improved our state with the help of the Lord and, of course, the hard work, the perseverance and the help of the people, especially with the youth,” he said in Filipino. /jpv