PIMENTEL PAYS TRIBUTE TO CORY

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino will be recognized as the well-loved leader who did not crave for power but used the awesome powers of the presidency to advance the welfare of the nation free from any selfish personal agenda.

Pimentel said Mrs. Aquino could have taken advantage of her immense popularity to perpetuate herself in power but did not, guided by the legacy of her martyred husband, Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. that a genuine leader should subordinate and sacrifice his or her own interest in favor of the common good.

"Cory was a person detached from power - she had no selfish attachment to the powers of the presidency. She had no personal agenda except to see freedom, equality and justice prevail for the benefit of the Filipino people," he said.

Pimentel, who served as Interior and Local Government Secretary and National Peace Adviser in the Aquino Cabinet, said she was so unlike other leaders who were obsessed with protecting their turf and accumulating more powers for themselves.

He recalled that Mrs. Aquino fully supported the enactment of the Local Government Code by Congress during her time even if this meant the dilution of her powers.

"I can say without her at the presidency, the Local Government Code, which I sponsored, would never have come to pass because the Code diminishes the powers of the presidency to the extent that those powers are devolved to the local government officials," the senator from Mindanao said.

Pimentel said Mrs. Arroyo set the example for honesty in public service and her moral rectitude remained intact even up to the time she stepped down from the presidency.

He said her integrity was unsullied by any suspicion of misuse of fund and in fact she saw to it that taxpayers money was spent prudently.

Pimentel said the Aquino presidency was characterized by respect for the principle of separation of powers among the independent branches of government. He said Mrs. Aquino refrained from interfering in the functions of the judiciary, specially in decisions of the Supreme Court on petitions questioning her official acts.