Jun & Bam

Two scions of two of the most beloved political families will likely be on the same senatorial slate in next year’s elections.

The question is: Will they add value to their already illustrious family name or simply have a free ride on its built-in magic carpet?

Ramon “Jun” Magsaysay Jr. is no stranger to the Senate, having served there from 1995 to 2007. At 74, he could be the oldest candidate in the emerging Liberal Party senatorial slate. He is a tried and tested public servant and even in his seventies, can continue to keep the Magsaysay legacy active and enduring. Only 18 when his beloved father died in a plane crash, Jun was “forced to good,” standing up as head of the family to his mother Luz and two sisters Mila and Teresita.

Because his father made sure government funds and his personal funds were treated as different sources, entertainment expenses incurred at Malacañang by Jun and sisters were deducted from their father’s paycheck. President Magsaysay was very strict on that. Jun remembers what a jolt it was, and what a sobering moment it was, when his mother received President Magsaysay’s last paycheck.

It was for P1,600, net. Their family of four was now on their own. A family friend lent them his house on Shaw Boulevard for one year, De La Salle gave Jun a scholarship and St. Scholastica’s College gave his sisters the same privilege, out of gratitude to President Magsaysay. Thus, all his life Jun has tried to keep the Magsaysay name unsullied.

Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino, at 35, could be the youngest candidate in the administration’s dream coalition. He has no memories of his late uncle Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., but his life changed after the latter’s assassination. Only six at the time, his uncle’s murder awakened in Bam a deep love of country, democracy and justice.

Bam (named for the character “Bambam” in Pebbles and Bambam) graduated valedictorian of his grade school and high school classes at the Ateneo de Manila. He tucked in a degree in BS Management Engineering from the Ateneo in 1999, summa cum laude.

I daresay that even without the undeniable boost from his illustrious surname, Bam, the son of Ninoy’s youngest brother Paul, would have made it to the top of the corporate totem pole. But Bam chose to immerse himself in the development of the youth and under-privileged communities.

At 25, Bam became the chairman of the National Youth Commission, the youngest person ever to head a national government agency. In 2006, after his stint with government, Bam established a program that would help thousands of female micro-entrepreneurs secure better incomes for their families. This is what is now known as the Hapinoy Program.

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Jun and Bam were at the Bulong Pulungan lunch forum at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza last Tuesday to share their plans in case they are both drafted by the Liberal Party for its senatorial slate. It isn’t unlikely that they will be included in the LP coalition — President Monching Magsaysay and Sen. Ninoy Aquino were stalwarts of the LP. President Noynoy Aquino ran under the LP banner.

Jun, a successful businessman now running a dairy farm in Laguna, was asked why he is running for the Senate anew next year. He said the turning point was the Senate impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona. He was at first skeptical that Corona would be impeached at all, and then the voting floored him — 20 to 3. He said only a leader with political will could have succeeded in getting his allies and non-allies to rally to his anti-corruption campaign.

He told his wife Marie Louise, “I think President Aquino is a God-sent person. We need somebody who can reform this country.”

“If reforms have to be done against graft and corruption, they have to be done now,” Jun stresses, pointing to the political will of the President. He wants to be part of that reform juggernaut.

When he asked his wife for her blessings, she told him, “Jun, you’re old enough to decide for yourself.”

He dreams that with the right reforms, government could create, with the help of the private sector, “A Singapore in every major island in the Philippines — in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.” He proclaims himself an advocate of “pro-life with responsibility.”

He believes in supporting Catholic and Christian schools because values formation is part of their curriculum. “Values are everything,” he stresses.

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When asked “Why another Aquino in government?”, Bam counters with a smile, “Why not another Aquino?”

“Dynasties serve to protect vested interests, and the track record of the Aquinos shows that their only interest was to serve the country. So, no, there is no dynasty to speak of, but there is a history of public service,” says Bam, whose physical resemblance to his martyred uncle is remarkable.

At 35 and a bachelor (he will change his civil status on Sept. 16 when he marries his girlfriend of six years Timi Gomez), he is the first of the Facebook Generation and the “EDSA babies” to run for the Senate. He is for responsible parenthood, is against abortion but is for preventing unwanted pregnancies among the youth in the country.

When Bam informed his cousin PNoy about his plans to run for senator, the latter’s reply was, “Mahirap ang buhay na ito. Kaya mo ba?”

Bam assured his cousin he was more than ready, “It is time for me to step up.” He will be taking his oath as Liberal Party member on Aug. 21, the 29th death anniversary of his Tito Ninoy.

No other Aquino is running for national office, but Bam discloses that a first cousin Len Oreta is running for mayor of Malabon.

Though Bam has no memories of his Tito Ninoy, his memories of his Tita Cory, who was also an advocate of microenterprises, are vivid.

He remembers how simple she was and how she always said thank you for favors big and small.

He remembers the last time she called him up.

Like other relatives, he had donated blood for her during the final weeks of her battle against colon cancer in 2009. One day, he was surprised to hear her soft voice on the telephone, telling him, “Thank you, Bam.”

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)