Bam: There’s room for 2 Aquinos in Senate

MANILA, Philippines — Actress Kris Aquino will surely win if she runs for senator in 2019, her cousin, Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, said the other day.

The senator said he does not mind having his cousin as a colleague in the Senate as she is outspoken and takes a strong stand on issues close to her heart.

“Kris, if she decides to run, I think she’d win. Honestly, if she continues her stand against things done by the administration, I think she’d be very welcome in the Senate,” Aquino told “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News channel on Monday night.

“At this point, anyone who is willing to stand up and speak out, that voice is welcome,” he said.

When asked whether there is room for two Aquinos in the Senate, he said: “To be honest, we still have to talk about that.”

He believes his cousin’s decision to run for senator or not will have to be decided by her family.

The senator is seeking reelection in 2019 under a yet-to-be formed opposition slate.

Aquino stressed the need for a strong opposition in the Senate, given the climate of impunity and stifling of dissent under the Duterte administration.

He conceded the Liberal Party led by Vice President Leni Robredo might not be able to come up with a full slate but it was not important.

“The call of the times is to have a coalition of opposition made up of different parties, institutions and groups. There might be people there who never wanted to run to begin with. The Church has been maligned by this administration and they are very vocal against the extrajudicial killings. I wouldn’t mind if we’d have representatives who represent churches. Not just the Catholic Church, but the religious sector in general,” he said.

He admitted that the 2019 elections will be an uphill battle for the opposition so the best strategy should be to focus on truth and sincerity.

“It’s the best way to really contextualize this fight. It’s not just individuals, positions, parties. It really has something to be deeper than that if we really want to go into this difficult battle,” he said.