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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Koko Pimentel says passing a law is no a crime; warns state prosecutors vs hasty graft charges

Koko Pimentel says passing a law is no a crime; warns state prosecutors vs hasty graft charges

Published Apr 20, 2026 04:32 pm

At A Glance

  • Passing a law is not a crime. Former Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III had this to say in a cable news interview Sunday, April 20 as he warned state prosecutors on filing cases against members of Congress without any solid evidence.
Former Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (Facebook)
Former Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (Facebook)


Passing a law is not a crime.
Former Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III had this to say in a cable news interview Sunday, April 20 as he warned state prosecutors on filing cases against members of Congress without any solid evidence.
Pimentel was referring to supposed upcoming graft cases against former Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero and former House Speaker Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez.
According to the Mindanaonon, such cases against lawmakers must be supported by “a specific kind of evidence to show their participation in the graft and corrupt acts...Because the mere passing of a bill into a law cannot be a crime".
“So it should be more than that… So it’s in the implementation of the law,” Pimentel pointed put.
The law being alluded to is the General Appropriations Act (GAA) or the annual national budget, which goes through both chambers of Congress (House of Representatives and Senate).
Pimentel urged prosecutors to adhere to the standard set by Ombudsman Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla when he was the Department of Justice (DOJ) secretary — that cases should be filed only when there is “reasonable certainty" or scoring a conviction.
“You only file cases when you have the confidence that you have a reasonable certainty of convicting the accused," said Pimentel, also a lawyer.
At the same time, the former senator reckoned that due process must be observed and that prosecutions must not be rushed just because of public clamor.
“Let’s be careful in depriving people with liberty. Let us not force the issue unless the evidence is really there...We should be very careful in announcing self-imposed deadlines because we might force ourselves to comply… just because we have already announced it publicly,” he added.
Pimentel advised the Ombudsman to complete a thorough fact-finding first — especially on high-profile issues such as cases on flood control project anomalies — and to only move once the evidence is sufficient.
“After their fact-finding… if he believes there’s sufficient evidence to charge people, then he should now make the announcement...Announce when you’re ready," he stressed.
While acknowledging public frustration over the pace of investigations on the flood control projects mess, Pimentel said caution and fairness must guide the process. “But people should be punished if there is really evidence. To be fair… to be fair to everybody.”
Earlier, .lawyer Ade Fajardo, counsel-spokesperson for Romualdez, has maintained that there is, at present, no evidence linking Romualdez to the allegations tied to anomalous flood control projects.
“We remain confident that these matters will be resolved based on evidence and due process—not politics or speculation,” Fajardo said.
Fajardo also underscored the Romualdez camp's readiness to cooperate with authorities, particularly with the Office of the Ombudsman should formal proceedings be initiated.

Related Tags

koko pimentel Martin Romualdez Chiz Escudero flood control project Ombudsman
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