Bam Aquino should seek a Senate seat

This is my reaction to John Nery’s September 4 column, “Not yet, Bam, not yet.”

While Nery is perfectly entitled to his views on the propriety and timing of Bam’s planned run for the Senate, I am convinced that the country’s need for better legislators is a more important consideration. Those prepared and interested to serve must say so, if only to offer the Filipino people as many qualified choices as possible come 2013.

As a lawyer, I am witness to the quality of both lawmaking and debate at both houses of Congress and have found it utterly depressing. Bam—and other young, competent leaders like him—should run because waiting comes at an even steeper price: continued rule (and policymaking) by the corrupt, dishonest and unqualified.

The Aquino legacy is not about self-abnegation. It’s about a willingness to serve the Filipino people when you are called to do so, regardless of the circumstances.

—DARWIN MARIANO,

darwin.mariano@gmail.com