Bam Aquino on his resounding win: 'Totally unexpected but we will take it!'

This was the reaction of newly elected Sen. Bam Aquino when I congratulated him over the phone Tuesday, when 97 percent of election returns were already in.

- JOANNE RAE M. RAMIREZ

The results, which never wavered from the trend as early as 9 p.m. on Election Day, showed Bam in second place, after Sen. Bong Go, who surveys had all but predicted would be the topnotcher. And indeed he was, with, as of press time, a whopping 26,489 million votes and counting.

"Totally unexpected but we will take it!" he told me in an "ambush" phone interview.

His reaction is not unexpected. Bam, whose real name is Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV, only placed second in one informal survey as far as I know—the Ateneo University-wide Mock Election. He placed second to come-backing senator Kiko Pangilinan.

In all other surveys, he was bringing up the rear in the winners' column. In some surveys, he wasn't even in the winners' circle.

"We are overwhelmed and surprised," he added.

He credits his stunning victory to "the youth."

"They didn't only vote for me, they campaigned heavily (for me)," said Bam.

Who was the first person he thanked when he realized he was winning?

His mother, Melanie.

"She's my best campaigner," he revealed. Bam once told me, "My parents (his father is Ninoy Aquino's youngest brother Paul) are also achievers in their own way. But they never really pressured me. It's just that in our house, striving hard was valued. Doing good in school was valued."

Family friend chef Jessie Sincioco told me that on May 7, Bam's birthday, he surprised Melanie by visiting her at a gathering she was hosting for supporters of Bam even if it was crunch time for the campaign.