By Hannah Torregoza
Opposition Senator Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV on Monday said he is not keen on shifting his stance on political issues just to ensure he would enter the “Magic 12” in the May 2019 senatorial race.
Senator Bam Aquino (JAY GANZON / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Aquino, whose ranking in the latest Pulse Asia preferential surveys for senatorial bets dropped to 18-23 ranking, said he remains steadfast as an opposition candidate and be very transparent on his views and his advocacies for the nation.
“I’m sure na may iba diyan na nag-iisip na kapag oposisyon iboboto nila, kung oposisyon di nila iboboto. Pero wala naman tayong choice. Marami narin ang nagbanggit na Bam baka mas maganda gumitna. Pero sa panahon natin ngayon, kailangan tayong manindigan sa mga isyu ng bayan (I’m sure there are some voters who believe that if you’re an opposition they will vote for you, if not they won’t. But we have no choice. There are so many people telling me ‘Bam, its best to be in the middle.’ But these days, we need to take a firm stand on issues concerning our nation),” Aquino told reporters in an interview.
“Very transparent naman tayo sa pinaglalaban natin, at iyong taumbayan sa huli ang pipili kung sino ang gusto nila. Kami naman, itutulak namin, ipaglalaban namin, maninindigan kami sa mga bagay-bagay na alam namin ang mahalaga sa tao (We have been very transparent in our fight, and in the end, it is the people who will choose whom they want. On our end, we will push; we will fight; we will take a stand on things that we believe is very important to the people),” he said.
Besides, he said, it is still too early to give up the fight noting his past experience when he first ran for a Senate seat.
“In 2012, around this time, I wasn’t even in the top 20. Maaga pa talaga ito. What you really want to see is pagkatapos ng filing, sino talaga iyong mga tatakbo o hindi. Pagkatapos noon, magsisimula pa lang ang kampanya. (after the filing, you would see who is really running ant not. After that, the campaign will officially start),” said Aquino.
“Don’t forget na may kampanya po. Noong kampanya ng 2016, si Presidente, siya po, I think, ang pinakamalayo noong ganitong panahon and yet umabot sa dulo (Don’t forget we have yet to campaign. During the 2016 campaign, the President was far behind in surveys, and yet he made it in the end),” Aquino pointed out.