Pimentel honored with 21-gun salute in final tribute
Credit to Author: Javier J. Ismael| Date: Sat, 26 Oct 2019 07:18:58 +0000
EMOTIONS ran high as family and friends of former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. bid goodbye to a loved one and colleague on Saturday.
The former Senate President was given a 21-gun salute, fitting for a Senate leader, Cabinet member and mayor, before being buried at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig City.
Fearless parliamentarian. Fightingest mayor. Stalwart of democracy. These are but some of the sobriquets given to Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, Jr. in his years of public service.
He has been called other names by his detractors, including “Don Quixote de Pimentel”, for his courageous but sometimes lonely battle against a dictator, corruption in government, electoral fraud and even foreign imperialism.
What sticks in the mind more, however, is the reputation that he, as a public official and private individual, has earned for fearlessness, incorruptibility, integrity and honesty. And, yes consistency.
As senator, Pimentel authored and sponsored several key pieces of legislation, among them the Local Government Code of 1991, the Cooperative Code, the Philippine Sports Commission Act, the Act Creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and the People’s Small-Scale Mining Act.
He also authored and co-sponsored the Generic Drugs Act and the Act Establishing the Philippine Police under a Reorganized Department of Interior and Local Government.
Pimentel passed away early morning on Sunday, October 20. He suffered from lymphoma, cancer of the lymphatic system.