Poe backs Senate bid of Bam Aquino, Tito Sotto, Pia Cayetano

Sen. Grace Poe. —File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau

MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial candidates Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, and Pia Cayetano gained the endorsement of incumbent Sen. Grace Poe despite their “political differences.”

Poe made the pronouncement during the grand rally of the FPJ Panday Bayanihan Partylist in San Carlos City, Pangasinan on Sunday.

During the rally, Poe introduced each senatorial aspirant, reminiscing about their time as colleagues, specifically, when each of them supported her when her nationality was questioned as part of the Senate in 2015.

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“So when there was an issue when I was about to be removed from the Senate because they didn’t know who my biological parents were, all three of them — Senator Pia, Senator Bam, and Sen. Tito Sotto — were the ones who voted for me to stay,” Poe said in Filipino.

“So you know they have integrity. Look, our politics are different, but politics is irrelevant if what you are fighting for is the truth,” she added.

Aquino is with the Katipunan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino, Sotto with the Nationalist People’s Coalition, and Cayetano with the Nacionalista Party.

Poe stressed and recognized the three candidates’ dedication to advocating for the welfare of Filipinos.

Sotto served as the Senate president from 2018 to 2022 and was in office from 1992 to 2004 and 2010 to 2022. Aquino also served as a senator from 2013 to 2019, and Cayetano served as senator from 2004 to 2016 and 2019 to 2025.