Aquilino Pimentel III

Aquilino de la Llana Pimentel III (born January 20, 1964 in Cagayan de Oro City) commonly known as Koko Pimentel, is the son of the incumbent senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. (2004-2010) and Lourdes dela Llana.

Education

*Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Ateneo de Manila University
*Bachelor of Laws, University of the Philippines
**1st Place, Philippine Bar Examinations, 1990

Profession/occupation

*Lawyer

Work experience

*Professorial Lecturer, MBA-JD Consortium, De La Salle Professional Schools & Far Eastern University Institute of Law, May 2006-present
*Lawyer, 1990-present
*Commissioner (representing Mindanao), National Youth Commission, 1995-98

Political career

Aquilino Pimentel III has as yet never held an elective post. He had run for mayor of his native Cagayan de Oro City in the 2001 elections but was defeated by then-Mayor Vicente Emano.

May 14, 2007 Elections

Running in only his second race in the May 14, 2007 senatorial elections, Pimentel was narrowly defeated by Congressman Miguel Zubiri for the 12th and last slot in the Philippine Senate. The margin of some 18,372 votes was hotly contested, particularly the votes from the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao, where Pimentel had lost heavily to Zubiri.

Claiming the votes in Maguindanao were tainted, Pimentel petitioned the Supreme Court to issue a restraining order against the proclamation of Zubiri. With the vote tied at 7-7, the High Tribunal failed to grant Pimentel's petition, [ [http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=76486 Inquirer.net, SC paves way for Zubiri proclamation] ] and Zubiri was duly proclaimed elected to the Senate on July 14, 2007. In the final Comelec tally, Zubiri had garnered a total of 11,001,730 votes, and Pimentel 10,983,358 votes. [ [http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20070714hed3.html The Daily Tribune, SC split 7-7 on TRO, paves way for Zubiri win] ] On March 14, 2008, the Supreme Court in a 40-page decision penned by Associate Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, dismissed Aquilino Pimentel III's petition to stop the Commission on Elections from canvassing votes from the province of Maguindanao. However, the Court's judgment did not prevent the Senate Electoral Tribunal from proceeding on the Pimentel poll protest. [ [http://www.gmanews.tv/story/84882/Zubiri-SC-decision-a-big-morale-booster www.gmanews.tv, Zubiri: SC decision a big morale booster] ]

Proclamation

On July 14, 2007, Zubiri was officially proclaimed the 12th winner of the May 14 senatorial elections by the Comelec, sitting as National Board of Canvassers, shortly before noon and a day after the Supreme Court denied the petition of defeated GO candidate Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III seeking a TRO. The final tally showed Zubiri leading by some 18,000 votes over Pimentel. [ [http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=76622 Inquirer.net, Zubiri proclaimed 12th Senator] ]

Election protest, SET resolution

The Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) on June 19, 2008 resolved to proceed with the election protest of Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III: "Indeed, there is reasonable ground to believe that the final outcome of the case could affect the officially proclaimed results of the 12th senatorial position in the 14 May 2007 national elections, hence, the election protest case deserves further proceedings by the tribunal." [ [http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=122283 abs-cbnnews.com, Tribunal finds basis to proceed with Koko 2007 elections protest] ]

Miscellanea

*Pimentel is the son of Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., current Philippine Senator and former College of Law Dean of Xavier University.
*Pimentel is married to Jewel May Lobaton, a former Binibining Pilipinas-Universe titleholder who represented the Philippines in the Miss Universe pageant in 1998. Koko and Jewel May have 1 child, Aquilino "Kenny" L. Pimentel IV.
*Pimentel is endorsed by popular actress Angel Locsin, currently ranking 3rd in the FHM Philippines list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2007."

References

* [http://www.pimentel2007.org/ Koko Pimentel Official website]
* [http://www.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/eleksyon2007/candidates.php?name=Pimentel,-Aquilino-III-(Koko) Aquilino Koko Pimentel's Biodata]