Senate honors life, accomplishments of Sen. Nene Pimentel
Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III on Wednesday led the 24-member Senate in honoring the life and accomplishments of the late Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel Jr., a legend and a statesman.
Pimentel, 85, a bar topnotcher, is known as the father of the Local Government Code of 1991 and the Organic Act of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), among others.
He succumbed to pneumonia and lymphoma complications in the early morning of October 20 at the age of 85.
Pimentel’s remains were brought to the Senate Wednesday morning for the traditional
necrological rites given in honor of former members of the Upper Chamber who have died. The remains were flown to Cagayan de Oro City in the afternoon and will be brought back to Manila on Thursday.
Sotto presented the family of the late Senate President a Resolution expressing the Senate’s “profound sympathy and sincere condolences” which was authored by all of the members of the 18th Congress of the Senate.
Senate Resolution (SR) 168 was received by his son and namesake, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, on behalf of his mother, Lourdes or “Nanay Bing,” and sisters human rights Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, Ma. Petrina Teresa, and Lorraine, and brother Aquilino IV.
The Senate resolution emphasized the political achievements of the late statesman in the executive and legislative branches of the government.
Former Philippine President and former Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, himself a former Senator, and his wife, former Senator Loi Estrada, attended the necrological rites.
Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri, Ronald dela Rosa, Risa Hontiveros, Pia S. Cayetano and Juan Edgardo M. Angara attended the rites.
Also in attendance were former Senators Jose D. Lina Jr., Orlando S. Mercado, Heherson T. Alvarez, Nikki Coseteng, Wigberto Tañada, Eddie Ilarde, Rene V. Saguisag, Robert Jaworski, and Ramon Magsaysay Jr.
Senators Hontiveros and Cayetano; and former Senators Lina, Saguisag, and Alvarez delivered their eulogies.
Cayetano would slow down during the delivery of her eulogy to wipe her tears.
“The Honorable Aquilino ‘Nene’ Quilinging Pimentel Jr. (was) a distinguished public servant, a fearless human rights lawyer, parliamentarian, and legislator, a staunch defender of democracy, a family-oriented and religious man, and the Father of the Local Government Code,” the Senate resolution read.
It noted the late Pimentel’s sterling public service “in his almost five decades of illustrious and unblemished career as a public servant,” having served the government in various capacities.
The late senator first served as a delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention representing Misamis Oriental; mayor of Cagayan de Oro City (1980 to 1984); Batasang Pambansa Assemblyman (1984 to 1986); and Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government in concurrent capacity as Presidential Adviser and Chief Negotiator with the Muslim rebels (1986 to 1987).
Pimentel became a distinguished member of the Senate in 1987 and crafted significant laws, including the Organic Act of the Local Government Code, until 1992. He was elected to a new six-year term for the 1998 to 2004 Congress and served his third and last term from 2004 to 2010. His last government post was as member of the Consultative Commission which President Duterte created in 2018 to review the 1987 Constitution.
During his tenure as senator, the late Pimentel was appointed to two crucial positions: the Senate President from November 13, 2000 to June 30, 2001; and as Senate Minority Leader from 2004 to 2010 and July 23, 2001 to June 3, 2002.
In his incumbency as Senate chief, the Senate was able to register an impressive record in terms of laws enacted, the most notable of which included the Public Employment Service Office Act (1999); Early Childhood Care and Development Act; the General Banking Law (2000), Electronic Commerce Act (2000); Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (2000), and the Sports Benefits and Incentives Act (2001).
The Resolution noted that because of his “sterling qualities of a true leader and advocate of nationalist issues” and for his “unwavering efforts in nationbuilding through judicious legislation, unblemished public service and virtuous advocacy,” the late parliamentarian was feted the Benigno S. Aquino Award for Nationalism by the Catholic Schools Alumni Associations.
“Former Senate President Pimentel Jr. (was) an accomplished barrister, educator, author, local executive, public administrator, national legislator, activist, and a loving father and grandfather,” it added.
Senators and employees of the Senate wore solemn faced as they gave their last salute to “a respected statesman, an inspiring leader, a man of humility, honesty and integrity, a patriot, and an icon of democracy, who had dedicated his life for the betterment of his beloved country, and who had stood against all odds in protecting democracy and in fighting abuses in government, facing the struggles unafraid and unmindful of the dangers to his own life.”
“He is a great loss to the nation and to the Filipino people,” they said.
“Puede naman palang pumasok sa pulitika, at mamaalam ng marangal pa rin,” Sotto said in his speech. (It is possible to enter politics and bid goodbye with one’s integrity intact.)
Sotto said if Social Justice, Courage and the crafting of Laws were to assume a human form, in all probability, that person would be Senate President Nene Pimentel Jr.
Excerpts of Sotto’s eulogy follow: “For social justice, Pimentel formed the PDP-Laban Party - to advocate societal and structural reforms for the uplift of the common man. His views are progressive, which is only right, for the history of our country fated us to lose our territory when the Spaniards laid their eyes on our lands and declared them as owned by the King of Spain.
For courage, he demonstrated his willingness to risk life and liberty during the tumultuous 70’s up to the early 80’s — dangerous times when he perceived a tendency of government to attain full control of the state. He wore his several imprisonments record as a badge of honor in the service of the poor, the downtrodden and the victims of state power.
For laws, he authored many, including the landmark Local Government Code that devolved power to the local government units, thus assuring that funds would trickle down to those most in need. He was also the spirit behind the crafting of the basic law on Muslim Mindanao, searching for that elusive mix of retention of Muslim values and integration of the Muslim community with the larger national interest. He was at the forefront of the discussion and debate towards the adoption of the federal form of government.
“Senator Nene Pimentel was always accommodating whenever his wise counsel was sought which I benefited from as early as 1992 and he would dedicate precious hours to enlightening the Senate staffs on various issues. A few weeks before his death, he still managed to lend his presence in these parts though already needing a wheelchair for mobility.
“I have earlier confessed that if I have any familiarity with the whys and wherefores of serving my colleagues in the Senate, I would attribute it to the experience of working with a number of my models and icons in public service in this chamber. Right there in the group of my top mentors would be Senate President Nene Pimentel, whose humility, simplicity of style, and decorum make us all proud that we are his friends. To him the term statesman would be more appropriate, rather than politician. He was in the mold of old school scholarliness and fervor, akin to a Filipino Thomas More.
“Senate President Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr., was one Senator whom we expected to see every now and then in our premises. He felt at home here, in the ambience of debate and proposing laws for the benefit of the people. Today he comes back to the Senate for the last time. He will be greatly missed. He had been a leading light of this chamber, not only in good times, but more so during its trials and darkest moments.
Pimentel’s son, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, himself a former Senate President and a bar topnotcher like his father, could not help but cry when he responded to the eulogies of senators and former senators.