Koko Pimentel to focus on electoral reforms as senator

Senator-elect Aquilino “Koko" Pimentel III on Thursday vowed to focus on electoral reforms when he starts his work at the Senate so that no candidates in future elections will suffer the same fate as he did. “Sa ayaw at gusto ko naging expert ako sa electoral reform, kasi nga for four years, ito yung aking nilabanan, ‘yung electoral fraud. In the course of time, naging familiar na ako sa electoral system," he said in an interview before his proclamation on Thursday. Pimentel said as a senator, he will make sure that people who rigged past polls and plan to manipulate results of future elections will be punished. “Una sa lahat, gusto ko mag-focus sa accountability. Walang napaparusahan. Kahit na may fraud na nagde-deny pa, kahit na nakita na, ayaw pa file-an ng kaso. Dapat lahat ng involved diyan sampahan na ng kaso," he said. He added that he particularly wants to improve the automated election system, which the country started using during the May 2010 elections. The Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) on Thursday ruled that Pimentel won over Juan Miguel Zubiri during the 2007 polls by over 250,000 votes. Zubiri resigned from the Senate and withdrew his counter-protest against Pimentel last week amid allegations that he benefited from electoral fraud during the 2007 polls. Zubiri, however, denied that he was a party to any cheating in 2007. Koko wants to join SET Pimentel, son of former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr., also expressed intention to be a member of the SET once he officially takes his Senate post. “If I can be allowed, I want to volunteer to sit in the SET so we can go over our rules on how we can plug some loopholes." Pimentel said he particularly wants to institutionalize a way to expedite the resolution of future electoral protests “I’m making myself available so we can review the rules, update the rules and prepare for the automated elections kasi iba naman po ang nature ng protests sa automated elections," he said. He likewise said that he hopes the resolution of his case will send a message to other government institutions that justice can still be attained in the country. “Sana po itong nangyari ngayon will infect other institutions delivering justice in our country. It can be done. The only lookout is how to do it speedily," he said. He also vowed to ensure the effective implementation of Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, which was authored by his father. - KBK, GMA News