Aquilino Martin "Koko" de la Llana Pimentel III (Tagalog pronunciation: [pimenˈtel]; born January 20, 1964), is a Filipino politician and lawyer serving as the Senate Minority Leader since 2022.
[11] Pimentel ran for Cagayan de Oro city mayor in the 2001 elections but lost to Vicente Emano.
[12] Running in only his second race in the May 14, 2007 senatorial elections, Pimentel was narrowly defeated by Bukidnon Congressman Miguel Zubiri for the 12th and last slot in the Philippine Senate.
[22] On August 12, Pimentel took his oath of office before his supporters in Mati, Davao Oriental, where he received a high number of votes.
[23] Pimentel was included in the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) coalition's shortlist of senatorial candidates for the 2013 election.
[24] Instead, Pimentel ran under the Team PNoy coalition, composed mostly of supporters of then-President Benigno Aquino III.
", after Andanar referred to anti-Marcos protesters who opposed the hero's burial of the late dictator as "temperamental brats".
[30] Pimentel also led 12 senators who voted against Resolution 390 calling on Congress to convene a joint session to tackle the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.
[31] Pimentel resigned from his position as Senate President on May 21, 2018, to focus on his reelection bid in the 2019 election and was succeeded by Majority Leader Tito Sotto.
[32] Lawyers Ferdinand Topacio and Glenn Chong separately filed two petitions against Pimentel's senatorial bid for serving more than two consecutive terms.
The Makati Medical Center issued a press release criticizing Pimentel for violating the hospital's home quarantine protocol, which required PUMs to self-isolate in order to avoid exposing health professionals and other patients to possible infection.
[42][43] On May 2, 2020, Pimentel considered himself as a "recovered person" as his staff told him after his sample was tested negative for the SARS-Cov-2, but not yet confirmed by the Department of Health.
[44] Referring to his actions in violation of the COVID-19 community quarantine, an editorial column from the Inquirer dated March 27, 2020 labeled him as "the poster boy of entitlement and recklessness".
[45] A popular actress and activist, Angel Locsin, expressed regret in endorsing Pimentel during the 2007 elections, calling it a "mortal sin".
[47][48] Former University of Makati College of Law dean and lawyer Rico Quicho filed a complaint in April 6 against the senator for allegedly violating Republic Act No.
[51] On January 21, 2021, the Department of Justice dismissed the case for lack of probable cause the complaint against Pimentel over his alleged quarantine breach.
Despite this, Pacquiao was allegedly kept out of party meetings by vice chairperson and Energy secretary Alfonso Cusi, leading to the PDP-Laban dispute in 2021.
Pimentel initially had no intention of running for a local position in Marikina after his Senate term ends in 2025, with him and his wife Kathryna Yu-Pimentel allying in early 2024 with Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro and his wife, 1st District Representative Marjorie Ann Teodoro, to support Kathryna's intended run for lower congress representing the city's first district.
[66] In January 2000, Pimentel married 1998 Miss Universe Philippines Jewel May Lobaton, with whom he has two sons;[67] President Joseph Estrada was their godfather ("ninong") at the wedding.