Campaign with Imee Marcos won’t change Koko Pimentel

He may be sharing the stage with Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos during the campaign, but Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III still thinks the Marcos martial law years were bad for the country.

Pimentel, son of antimartial law figure Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr., said in a TV interview that he would campaign with Marcos only because President Rodrigo Duterte endorsed her candidacy for the Senate.

“I’ve gotten used to it,” he said on the ABS-CBN News Channel.

Marcos is one of the President’s chosen ones and a guest candidate of his Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan. Pimentel is president of the ruling party.

“If you ask me about the martial law years and if you ask me if these were good years or beneficial years for the country, I would still say no because of the suppression of democracy,” Pimentel said.

“We had no basic freedoms,” he said.

But should they both win in the May elections, he said he could work with Marcos at the Senate.