Pimentel ponders on joining minority or become critic in majority if Marcos wins

Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III. Senate PRIB file photo / Bibo Nueva España

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is pondering on whether he will be joining the minority or be a critical member of the majority, should former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. win the presidency.

“Ang gagawin ko na lang (What I will do), since I have three years left in the Senate, I’m thinking about — if he wins — I might join the minority so that there will be some checks,”said Pimentel on ABS-CBN News Channel’s Headstart Tuesday.

“There should always be checks on a Marcos presidency or if I should join the majority, then I will have to categorically state to my colleagues in the majority that I will be a critical majority. They should allow me to speak my mind also as a mechanism to check the person or persons in power,” he pointed out.

The Pimentel faction of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) is supporting the presidential candidacy of Senator Manny Pacquiao.

Meanwhile, the other PDP-Laban wing, led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, has endorsed Marcos for president.

Recently, Pimentel filed a resolution seeking an investigation on the Marcoses’ unsettled P203-billion estate tax.

The senator said that the move is a matter of national interest.

JPV