Ogie Diaz suggests Bam Aquino–Risa Hontiveros tandem for 2028 national elections

Entertainment reporter and talent manager Ogie Diaz has raised the idea of Senator Bam Aquino seeking the presidency in 2028, with Senator Risa Hontiveros as his vice-presidential candidate.

Ogie put forward the suggestion while commending Sen. Bam for helping secure the P1.38-trillion allocation for the education sector.

“Husay ni Sen. Bam Aquino. At walang bahid ng corruption. Talagang ang edukasyon ang gusto niyang manalo,” Ogie said.

(He praised Sen. Bam Aquino for being competent, free from corruption, and genuinely focused on uplifting education.)

With former Vice President and current Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo hinting that she may no longer run for national office, Ogie said the possible alternative could be a Bam–Risa tandem.

“Kung ayaw na ni Mayor Leni Gerona Robredo tumakbo, baka pwede si Bam. Tapos, si Senator Risa Hontiveros ang kanyang runningmate, ay nako, sama ako ng sampu diyan!” he said.

(If Mayor Leni Gerona Robredo no longer wants to run, maybe Bam can. Then Senator Risa Hontiveros could be his running mate—he said he would gladly join along with ten others.)

Ogie added that the country needs officials who love the nation, serve without enriching themselves, and refuse to treat public office as a family business.

“Yung kahit hindi maingay, yung mga accomplishment naman ang ‘maingay at nagmumura,’” he pointed out.

(He said that even leaders who are not noisy can let their accomplishments speak loudly and powerfully.)

Sen. Bam recently welcomed the P1.38 trillion allocation for education in 2026, the largest in Philippine history, describing it as a true education budget that can help address the country’s massive classroom backlog and boost student nutrition.

He said the amount meets the UN recommendation to increase the budget for education to 4 percent to 6 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Sen. Bam said the Senate allotted an additional P70 billion in its version of the 2026 national budget, raising classroom construction funding from P13.2 billion in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to P65.9 billion, a P52.7-billion increase.

For student nutrition, the Senate is pushing to increase the school-based feeding program budget from P11.7 billion to P28.6 billion, a P16.9-billion jump.

Sen. Bam Aquino, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, emphasized that the Senate version of the budget strengthens the case for addressing the classroom backlog, which needs around P540 billion to resolve fully.