Pimentel: I Have No Personal Interests To Protect

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 Koko's 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 father's political footsteps.