Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III made history on Monday as the first senator to become a second-generation Senate President, taking his oath with his father, former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr., on his side.
The younger Pimentel, the head of President Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), was chosen to lead the Senate with 20 votes in the 24-member chamber, making him the third most powerful elected official in the country.
READ: Koko Pimentel takes Senate presidency by 20-3 vote
Pimentel joins the triumvirate of Mindanaoans now leading the government: Mr. Duterte in the executive and he and Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez in the legislature.
“It has never been this way before… In fact, for a long time, the people of Mindanao have felt excluded from the center of political power that defined policies and programs for the progress and development of the nation,” he said in his first speech as Senate leader.
“Now, history seems to be making up for all those times of exclusion … Should this circumstance then be a source of pride? Forgive my, my dear friends, if I say ‘yes’ because, at the very least, it reassures our fellow Mindanaoans that we are, after all, truly on par with the rest of the country in matters of public service,” he said.
‘Singular opportunity’
Pimentel called the current leadership “a singular opportunity” for the sons of Mindanao to “show to the nation and the world at large that we are up to the challenge in serving the best interests of our people,” he said.
Pimentel took stock of the magnitude of his victory, for being Mr. Duterte’s lone fellow member of PDP-Laban in the chamber, until neophyte Sen. Manny Pacquiao returned to the party last week.
“I read your presence here today as indicating your support for change that President Rodrigo Duterte has promised would come to the country,” he said.
Legislative agenda
Pimentel assured all his colleagues that “fairness will be the guiding principle in our implementation of the program of government for change that the majority of senators have agreed upon.”
He vowed to support the President’s legislative agenda: the shift to federalism; “all-out search for peace”; “all-out war on crime, drugs and corruption”; reforms in taxation, budget system and justice system; inclusive growth; environmental protection; quality education and healthcare; and services to poor children, the elderly and the ailing.
“In short, if we follow the mantra, ‘the poorest first, the poor second,’ we will never go wrong,” Pimentel said, vowing to promote an open Senate, where the public may give comments on proposed measures.
Cayetano no show
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Pimentel’s ally who had jostled for the chamber’s top post, was nowhere to be found as the Senate installed a new leadership.
Failing to snag the Senate presidency is Cayetano’s second political loss this season, having first lost the vice presidency even while he ran with the highly popular Mr. Duterte.
Cayetano posted a statement on his Facebook page, saying he had lost “what was never mine” and admitting that “one of my dreams passed me by.”
He was, however, congratulatory to Pimentel, saying: “I pray for Senator Koko and all the senators that we may fulfill the people’s mandate for change.”
NEW SENATE PRESIDENT Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III is sworn in by Sen. Manny Pacquiao after he was elected Senate President with a 20-3 vote. Witnessing his oath-taking is his father, former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
Pimentel’s rise to the Senate presidency may have seemed a long shot back during his first term, when Pimentel had to fight for the 12th and last slot in 2007, protesting the victory of Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri. Zubiri was forced to resign in 2011, giving way to Pimentel, as the former faced and denied cheating allegations against him.
On Monday, such bitter history seemed decades away: Zubiri was among the majority who backed Pimentel’s bid for leadership, even seconding the nomination of his fellow Mindanaoan.
Making history
The returning senator was first to point out the Pimentels’ feat in his nomination speech: “Senate President Pimentel… is also making history for being the first son to repeat his father’s achievement in holding that position. No other father and son had held the position of Senate President in the 100-year history of the Senate.”
Pimentel gave his father, former Senate President Nene Pimentel, special mention “for inspiring me to become a senator and for inculcating in the aptitude of focusing on the people, their problems and their needs.”
The elder Pimentel briefly spoke to reporters about his son’s achievement.
“It is the first time that it has happened, but that is not the most important thing. The most important thing is for Koko to perform well for the good of the people… I want him to earn the respect of the people on his own, not because he is my son,” said the former senator, adding that his son should be recognized as his own man.
As earlier agreed in the majority coalition, Liberal Party (LP) stalwart Sen. Franklin Drilon was elected Senate President Pro-Tempore, while Sen. Vicente Sotto III was named majority leader.
Reelected Sen. Ralph Recto was installed as minority leader, joining Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Antonio Trillanes IV, both defeated vice presidential candidates, in the bloc. He is the lone LP member in the minority. TVJ
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