Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. today assailed an apparent double standard of justice in the treatment of detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes in the face of the rejection by the courts of his petition to be allowed to perform his legislative duties while the coup charges against him are under trial.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said the 14th Congress should pursue the plan to adopt a federal system of government although it may take effect after 2010 to dispel apprehensions that it may be taken advantage of to extend the terms of office of incumbent officials of the executive and legislative branches.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said the government should recall all low-numbered protocol or courtesy car plates issued to high-ranking public officials except those for the President and the Vice President of the Republic and ambassadors of foreign countries.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should not have allowed her minions to initial the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, in effect offering it as a “done deal” to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said the government should exercise its duty to restore law and order and punish criminals in the conflict areas in Mindanao but should not turn its back on the peace process.

Members of the Senate bloc have urged the government to immediately restore law and order in conflict areas in Mindanao before taking a pro-active stand to degrade the military capability of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. (PDP-Laban) today criticized the transfer of Ninoy Aquino Day from August 21 (Thursday) to August 18 (Monday) on order of Malacañang which has the effect of diminishing the significance of the historic event.

As the nation commemorates the 25th anniversary of the martyrdom of the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. on August 21, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said the sum of his patriotic deeds and supreme sacrifices makes him an authentic hero and should serve as a reminder about the meaning of his life, especially of his epic death.

AMLAN, NEGROS ORIENTAL -- Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. (PDP-Laban) today allayed the fears of fellow senators, particularly those eyeing the presidency or vice presidency, that the adoption of a federal system may cause the scrapping of the 2010 Presidential Election.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said there are safeguards in Joint Congressional Resolution 10 calling for the adoption of a federal system of government that will prevent anybody from pushing for a hidden political agenda such as extending the term of the incumbent president or lifting the ban on her reelection.