Koko Pimentel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Koko Pimentel
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Pimentel in 2018
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| Senate Minority Leader | |
| Assumed office July 25, 2022 |
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| Preceded by | Franklin Drilon |
| 22nd President of the Senate of the Philippines | |
| In office July 25, 2016 – May 21, 2018 |
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| Preceded by | Franklin Drilon |
| Succeeded by | Tito Sotto |
| Senator of the Philippines | |
| Assumed office August 11, 2011 |
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| Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee | |
| In office July 23, 2019 – June 30, 2022 |
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| Preceded by | Loren Legarda |
| Succeeded by | Imee Marcos |
| Chair of the Senate Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship Committee | |
| In office May 25, 2018 – June 30, 2022 |
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| Preceded by | Migz Zubiri |
| Succeeded by | Mark Villar |
| Chair of the Senate Electoral Reforms and People's Participation Committee | |
| In office July 24, 2018 – June 30, 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Leila de Lima |
| Succeeded by | Imee Marcos |
| In office July 22, 2013 – June 30, 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Leila de Lima |
| Chair of the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee | |
| In office July 22, 2013 – June 30, 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Francis Escudero |
| Succeeded by | Leila de Lima |
| Commissioner of the National Youth Commission for Mindanao | |
| In office 1996–1998 |
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| President | Fidel V. Ramos |
| Chairperson | Amina Rasul-Bernardo |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Aquilino Martin de la Llana Pimentel III
January 20, 1964 Cagayan de Oro, Philippines |
| Political party | Nacionalista (2024–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (until 2024) |
| Spouses |
Jewel May Lobaton
(m. 2000; annulled 2018)Kathryna Yu
(m. 2018) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
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| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession |
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Aquilino Martin "Koko" Pimentel III, born on January 20, 1964, is a Filipino politician and lawyer. He is currently the Senate Minority Leader since 2022. He has been a Senator since 2011. From 2016 to 2018, he served as the Senate President.
Koko Pimentel is the eldest son of former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr.. This makes him the first child of a former Senate President to also hold the same high office. He became a senator on August 12, 2011, after a long process related to the 2007 election.
Early Life and Education
Aquilino Martin de la Llana Pimentel III was born in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, on January 20, 1964. His parents are Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. and Lourdes de la Llana-Pimentel. His father was a lawyer and a law dean at Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan when Koko was born. His father later became a senator himself.
Pimentel studied Mathematics at Ateneo de Manila University, earning his Bachelor of Science degree. He then studied law at the University of the Philippines College of Law. In 1990, he took the Philippine Bar Examinations and achieved the highest score.
Early Career and Public Service
After becoming a lawyer in 1990, Pimentel worked at his father's law firm from 1992 to 1998. He also served as a commissioner for the National Youth Commission from 1995 to 1998, representing the Mindanao region.
Later, he taught law at the University of the East College of Law and also at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business and Far Eastern University Institute of Law. In 2012, he received an honorary doctorate degree from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Political Journey
First Election Attempts
In 2001, Pimentel ran for mayor of Cagayan de Oro city but did not win.
The 2007 Senate Election
In the May 14, 2007 senatorial elections, Pimentel ran for the Senate. He was very close to winning the 12th and final Senate seat but was narrowly defeated by Miguel Zubiri. The difference was only 18,372 votes. Many people questioned the results, especially the votes from Maguindanao province.
Challenging the Election Results
In Philippine senatorial elections, the top twelve candidates with the most votes nationwide become senators. In 2007, Pimentel and Migz Zubiri were competing for the last seat. The election body, COMELEC, announced Zubiri as the winner.
Pimentel believed there were many fake votes in several provinces. He asked the Supreme Court to stop Zubiri's proclamation, but his request was not granted at that time.
Pimentel then filed a formal protest with the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET). This tribunal reviews election disputes for Senate seats. In July 2011, some officials admitted that there was indeed massive election fraud in the 2007 election.
On August 11, 2011, the Senate Electoral Tribunal announced the official final vote count. This count showed that Pimentel had more votes than Zubiri. A few days before this, Zubiri had resigned from the Senate, saying he was not involved in the fraud.
Because of the tribunal's decision, Pimentel was officially declared the rightful winner of the 12th Senate seat. He took his oath of office on August 12, 2011.
2013 Senate Election
Pimentel ran for senator again in the 2013 election. He joined the "Team PNoy" coalition, which supported then-President Benigno Aquino III. Pimentel was successfully elected to the Senate, placing eighth among all candidates.
Serving as Senate President (2016–2018)
On July 25, 2016, Pimentel was chosen by his fellow senators to be the Senate President. This is a very important role. He and his father, Aquilino Pimentel Jr., are the only father-and-son pair in Philippine history to both serve as Senate President.
In November 2016, Pimentel spoke up for people who were protesting against the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos. He said these protesters were "principled" and not "brats."
In May 2017, Pimentel supported the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao by President Rodrigo Duterte. However, his own father, Nene Pimentel, disagreed with this view.
Pimentel resigned from his role as Senate President on May 21, 2018. He wanted to focus on his campaign for reelection in the 2019 elections. Tito Sotto took over as Senate President.
Public Health Guidelines and Public Reaction (2020)
In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pimentel announced that he had tested positive for the virus. Before his diagnosis was confirmed, he had visited a hospital to be with his wife.
The hospital later released a statement. They said that Pimentel's visit went against their safety rules for people who might have the virus. This caused a lot of discussion and criticism from the public. Many people felt that everyone, including public officials, should follow health guidelines strictly.
The Department of Justice later looked into the complaint against Pimentel. In January 2021, the case was dismissed.
Political Party Matters
Pimentel was involved in a disagreement within his political party, PDP-Laban, in 2021. He had nominated Senator Manny Pacquiao to be the party president. However, some members of the party removed Pacquiao and Pimentel from their leadership roles. This led to two groups within the party.
2022 Elections and Current Role
Pimentel was not up for reelection in the 2022 senatorial elections because he was halfway through his second term. His group within the PDP-Laban party supported Manny Pacquiao for president. However, another group in the party supported Bongbong Marcos for president. Pimentel criticized this, reminding them that PDP-Laban was founded to oppose Marcos's father.
In March 2022, Pimentel filed a Senate resolution. He asked the Senate to investigate why a large estate tax from the Marcos family had not been collected for almost 25 years.
On July 25, 2022, Pimentel was elected as Senate Minority Floor Leader. In this role, he leads the senators who are not part of the majority group. He and his father are the second father-and-son pair in Philippine history to both serve as Senate Minority Leader.
Future Plans (2025)
Pimentel's Senate term will end in 2025. He has filed papers to run for a position as a representative for the first district of Marikina. He is running under the Nacionalista Party, but he still leads his group within the PDP–Laban party.
Personal Life
Pimentel's sister, Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, was appointed as a commissioner for the Commission on Human Rights in 2015.
In 2000, Pimentel married Jewel May Lobaton, who was a former Miss Universe Philippines. They had two sons. They later separated in 2011, and their marriage was ended in 2018.
In 2013, Pimentel met chef Kathryna Yu. They got married in October 2018. They have a daughter named Helena, who was born in March 2020. Pimentel and his family now live in Marikina.
