Rapper-economist Cielo Magno confirms she will run for Senate

PROF. Economics Professor Cielo Magno speaks before religious and civil groups gathered at EDSA Shrine, calling for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, on January 31, 2025.

Angie de Silva/Rappler

Will anti-corruption crusader Cielo Magno succeed where former NEDA chief Winnie Monsod failed? 

AT A GLANCE

• Cielo Magno, an economist and former undersecretary at the Department of Finance, announced her candidacy for the Senate in the 2028 elections during a forum in Italy.
• Magno, who has been vocal about socio-economic reforms and has a significant social media following, aims to connect with younger voters through her music and digital content.
• Despite her strong advocacy and background, Magno faces challenges in raising her public awareness and competing against established candidates in a crowded Senate race.

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MANILA, Philippines – Twenty-five years after UP economist Solita “Winnie” Monsod’s failed bid for a Senate seat, another teacher of the UP School of Economics is giving the Senate a shot.

Economist Cielo Magno announced in a forum with Filipinos in Italy this week that she will run for senator in the 2028 elections. 

“Yes, po, I’m running for senator in 2028,” said the 48-year-old academic in response to a question posed to her during the forum.

Magno served as undersecretary for fiscal policy and monitoring group of the Department of Finance for over a year but was “terminated” by Malacañang in September 2023 after she indirectly questioned President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s policy to set a price ceiling on rice amid rising prices. 

I knew when I posted the supply and demand graph that my boss would receive a call from Malacañang to remove me, but I did it anyway. With how things were going, I knew it was time to go. pic.twitter.com/WKGBXjdiK9

— Cielo Magno (@profcielomagno) September 9, 2023

Magno had posted on her personal social media account the chart on the law of supply and demand and said “I miss teaching,” in an apparent criticism of Marcos’ price cap on the basic staple via his Executive Order No. 39.

Magno’s immediate boss at the time, then-finance secretary Benjamin Diokno, had backed the price controls on rice. 

Days after she left the department, Magno said: “It is our responsibility as civil servants to say if a policy is flawed. It’s very dangerous to just say ‘yes’ because we don’t want to offend the boss. Policies have real consequences on people’s lives. They have to be well thought out.”

Magno returned to her alma mater, the UP School of Economics, to teach. She finished her Bachelor of Science in Business Economics and her Master of Arts in Economics from the state university. She has since been active in pushing for socio-economic reforms such as budget transparency, and political reforms such as a law against political dynasties. She was also among those who lobbied against defunding PhilHealth, in a petition that was won in the Supreme Court in December 2025.

Digital creator

Since leaving government two years ago, Magno has become a digital creator and has built a respectable following on social media. She now has over 204k followers on Facebook; 107k followers on YouTube; and 141k followers on TikTok. 

Magno is also a musician: she sings, raps, and plays the saxophone. She composed with Jake Regala the now-famous anti-corruption song, “Tax ng Ina Mo, Bantayan Mo,” which she has performed in various protest activities on the flood control corruption scandal, including the Trillion Peso March at the People Power Monument on November 30, 2025. 

On her YouTube account, the “Tax ng Ina Mo” video has at least 105k views. The karaoke version of the video on her account has 4,700 views, but many others have posted their own renditions of the song.

In a bid to reach out to the younger generation, Magno has uploaded a rap video series titled “Unrap da Kurap: Bugtong raps,” with critical lyrics about fugitive Senator Bato dela Rosa, convicted preacher Apollo Quiboloy, and Vice President Sara Duterte, among others.

She has received several recognitions since leaving government including The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service or TOWNS award in 2025 for her contributions to financial accountability and good governance. 

It is rare for academics with no political pedigree to join the Senate race. Graduates of the UP School of Economics are usually tapped to become technocrats and serve in offices such as the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (formerly NEDA) or the Department of Finance.

Monsod, now professor emeritus of the UP School of Economics, tried in 2001 when she ran as a candidate of Aksyon Demokratiko in the People Power Coalition of then-newly installed president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo but didn’t make it. Back then, she was a television personality known as “Mareng Winnie.” She has had a number of public affairs shows on GMA Network through the years, and has also served on the board of Rappler.

Uphill climb

Magno will have to overcome her comparatively low awareness among the masses who comprise the majority of the Filipino electorate. 

Filipino voters typically choose incumbents or returning senators for the Senate and since there are only 12 seats up for grabs, the chances of new candidates winning are quite low as dozens of candidates fight for the last few slots.

In the latest publicly available Pulse Asia survey on the 2028 senatorial race conducted from September 17 to 24, 2026, only 12% of survey respondents were aware of Magno. With 66 names on the list, she would have placed anywhere from 48th to 66th if the elections were held last month, with only 0.7% of respondents voting for her.

Magno, however, has some strong points. She is from the vote-rich region of Central Luzon, with Nueva Ecija as her home province. 

She will likely be backed by the left-leaning citizens’ party Akbayan, which pulled a surprise in the 2025 elections by topping the party-list race and winning 3 seats. If her low awareness rating doesn’t improve, she could follow the footsteps of Akbayan Representative Chel Diokno, who iniitially planned a third bid for a Senate seat (after two tries) in 2025 but opted instead to join the party-list race as first nominee of Akbayan.  

Being a musician and rapper, Magno may be able to connect with young voters who make up the majority of the electorate. She will, however, have to do a lot more work in improving her awareness rating via traditional and new media.

Asked in Italy what she’ll focus on if she wins, Magno said she will continue her advocacy of reforming the national budget, especially with respect to health care, and pushing for industrial policy.

“Ang tinututukan ko talaga sa budget ay yung health care… So sa akin po, napakahalaga ng health care system,” she said.

(My focus on the budget is health care… In my view, the healthcare system is very important.)

Magno is married to UP College of Law Professor Dante Gatmaytan. They have a son, Samuel. – Rappler.com