CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Senate Minority Leader Aquilino
Nene Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said his son
and namesake, lawyer Aquilino Koko Pimentel III, is
running for senator in the May elections not to
protect any personal or political interests but to
pursue pro-people causes such as social justice,
equitable distribution of wealth and law and order and
to strengthen the representation of Mindanao and the
youth in the 24-man Senate.
Saying his life as a public servant is an open book,
the three-termer senator said he has no political
interests to protect.
I do not need any member of my family to get into
public office to save me from the penal consequences
of any corruption or wrongdoing, Pimentel told
delegates to the 11th National Convention of the
Integrated Bar of the Philippines in this Northern
Mindanao city.
Getting involved in corrupt deals or public misdeeds,
by the way, is something I have avoided like a plague
through all the years of my public service as a
Constitutional Convention delegate, Cagayan de Oro
City mayor, assemblyman in the Batasang Pambansa,
director of the Development Bank of the Philippines,
Cabinet member, Chief Government Negotiator with the
Moro rebels, Senate President and now as the Minority
Leader of the Senate.
Pimentel said he is not batting for Kokos candidacy
because he wants to defy any legal or moral standards.
He pointed out that there is no law or moral rule that
says that if you are the son of Nene Pimentel, thou
shall not run for the Senate. He said neither is it
my intention to start a dynasty to protect my personal
interests.
The veteran senator from Mindanao emphasized that
Mindanao needs good, if not the best, additional
representation in the Senate. But as of now, out of 24
senators, 19 come from Luzon, 4 from Visayas and only
one (Pimentel) from Mindanao.
Pimentel said he also paid his dues for standing up
for the rights of the Filipino even during the
perilous years of martial law. As a consequence, he
was imprisoned four times and thrown out of office
twice without any rhyme or reason.
I mention this facet of my life only to assure you
that in public service, I seek only the public good.
And I guarantee that Aquilino Koko Pimentel will do
likewise with the grace of the Almighty, with your
vote and the help of our people, he said.
Koko Pimentel, who placed no. 1 in the bar
examinations of 1990, is secretary general of the
Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan and
once served as Commissioner of the National Youth
Commission.
Koko is the only member of the Pimentel family who has
opted to follow in his fathers political footsteps.
