Picture of Bam Aquino in 2018.

Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aguirre Aquino IV is a former Philippine senator who served from 2013 until 2019, when he failed in his re-election bid. As one of the youngest senators to serve at the time, he was a strong endorser of the growing esports and game development sectors in the country.^[1][2]

He also helped found the Philippine eSports Association (PeSPA) in 2015, which, among its other objectives, helped esports athletes obtain visas to attend international competitions in other countries.

Bam Aquino had been a strong supporter of the growing game development sector in the country, which he continued lobbying for even after he was removed from office in 2019. He attended and gave speeches at various game development events in the country, including the Global Mobile Game Confederation Southeast Asian Conference 2017 (GMGC Manila 2017) in Mandaluyong,^[3] the Philippine GameDev Expo 2023 in Pasay, and the GameDev Summit 2024 in Boracay.^[4]

Bam Aquino first gained widespread attention in the Filipino Dota 2 community in April 2015, when he publicly endorsed the Korea-based Filipino team Rave after they were asked to disembark from their flight from the Philippines to Korea by immigration officials.^[5]

In 2016, two Filipino teams who qualified for The International 2016 (TI6) event, TNC Pro Team and Execration, encountered visa problems that jeopardized their chances to compete in the tournament in Seattle, United States.

The TI6 SEA qualifiers ended on June 28, which saw TNC Pro Team and Execration qualified to participate in Seattle. Members of both teams applied for visas in early July but were told by the US embassy to obtain P-1 athlete visas instead of B-1/B-2 visitor visas. The P-1 visa, however, takes months to process, and the TI6 event was scheduled to begin on August 2.

Both teams sought help from the office of Bam Aquino and were able to solve the immigration issue.^[6]

Execration was flown to Seattle to participate in the TI6 Wild Card qualifiers but failed to win. TNC Pro Team, which qualified for the main tournament, beat the tournament favorite OG and placed 5th-8th in the event, bringing home over US$500,000 in tournament winnings.

Through the Philippine eSports Association (PeSPA), he had helped other esports athletes obtain visas to compete in other countries.

In 2023, as a private citizen, he established BAM Gaming, a Filipino gaming platform and community on Facebook. During its first year, it held various Mobile Legends community tournaments in Davao, Cavite, Rizal, Tarlac, Bulacan, Dipolog, and Metro Manila.

1. So how did Bam get to know esports?. Tuesday, April 14, 2015 3:15 PM. Dexter Ancheta. Mineski.net. Retrieved on 2023-04-01.
2. Sen. Bam: Game development, esports gaining momentum in PH. May 14, 2017 (PHT). Senate of the Philippines press release. Senate of the Philippines website. Retrieved on 2025-03-11.
3. Thank you for making GMGC Manila 2017 a huge success!. January 23, 2017 at 1:13 PM. INQUIRER.net author. INQUIRER.net. Retrieved on 2025-03-11.
4. Foreign game companies, investors urged to partner with PH devs. Feb 15, 2024 2:09 PM (PHT), ipdated May 28, 2024 3:15 PM (PHT). AC Coloma, ABS-CBN News. ABS-CBN News. Retrieved on 2025-03-11.
5. Senator Aquino Talks to Rave Dota 2 Team Regarding Immigration Issue; Legal Options Mulled. April 13, 2015 at 10:12 PM. Esports by INQUIRER.net author. Esports by INQUIRER.net. Retrieved on 2023-04-01.
6. It’s final: TNC and Execration are going to The International. July 29, 2016 at 4:29 PM PHT. Don Kevin Hapal. Rappler. Retrieved on 2023-04-01.