Koko’s wife eyes ‘abuse’ raps

MANILA, Philippines - Former beauty queen Jewel May Lobaton on Monday said she may file charges of psychological and economic abuse against her estranged husband, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.

Without going into details, Lobaton, winner of the 1998 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe title, said she was consulting lawyers about the possibility of filing charges against Pimentel, with whom she has two children.

“Right now I am talking to my legal adviser, Atty. Salvador Panelo, about it. If there is proof, we are considering legal remedies. I am also asking counsel from my friends,” Lobaton told reporters at the Manila Hotel Monday night where she was sworn in as president of the Inner Wheel Club of Manila.

“This is not going to be easy. I am going to fight a battle not only for myself but also for my children and for all the other women who are going through the same thing,” Lobaton said.

When asked what forms of abuse she endured during her marriage, she only said she was not physically battered.

“It would have been better if it was physical,” she said.

Panelo said Lobaton’s marital problems could be covered by Republic Act no. 9262 or “An Act Defining Violence Against Women and Children, Providing for Protective Measures for Victims, and Prescribing Penalties.”

Lobaton said she had hoped to have an amicable settlement with her husband for the sake of their children.

“During the past two years, I think I have given my best. I have extended so much love, care and protection to my husband but this time I have decided that it is time to move on,” she added.

Lobaton said she gave Pimentel two years to talk about saving their relationship. The couple had been estranged since 2011.

“He only gave me 15 to 20 minutes of his time despite what I did for him during the campaign. I do a lot of stuff for him because I care for him, he is my husband and the father of our children,” she said.

Pimentel ran for re-election in the May 2013 midterm polls.

Church, civil annulments

Lobaton said she will also file an annulment case in court.

“I will start first with an annulment. I think the fastest and most objective way to deal with separation or a broken marriage is through an annulment, so I might initiate it,” she said.

In a press conference in Bacolod last October, Lobaton said she had just filed a church annulment of her marriage to Pimentel before the Marriage Tribunal of the Diocese of Bacolod. The two were married on Jan. 4, 2000.

She said they both agreed that she will be the one to file the church annulment as he was too busy to file it himself.

They also agreed that the senator will take charge of filing for a civil annulment of their marriage before the courts, she said.

Lobaton said Pimentel is not aware of her plans and neither is she privy to his plans.

“We are not talking about it. As parents, we just talk about when the children will visit him and when I will get the children,” she said.

Lobaton said she has prepared her children about her plans to file abuse charges against Pimentel.

“My two boys are intelligent boys and I have been treating them as adults. I am very honest to them. I tell them that we love them but we could no longer live in the same house,” she said.

Lobaton encouraged other women who are getting maltreatment to seek help.

“I am here to tell all women that if you want to fight for your rights, if you are being abused and not given due treatment both as a person and as a woman, you should seek help because we have a lot of help desks for women and there are legal remedies. If you are abused, I am your friend,” she said.

No comment

Pimentel refused to comment on Lobaton’s statements.

He appealed to the Senate media yesterday not to make a national issue out of his personal life.

“That has been reported many times. Let us just concentrate on those who have been affected by Typhoon Labuyo,” Pimentel said in a text message to reporters.

A Bar topnotcher, Pimentel said he has read the law and he knows his rights.

“This is a free country. She can file any case she wants. But then I also have rights. I will defend myself against baseless and harassment charges. And of course, I can also file cases,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel had issued a statement in May last year, saying, “I confirm my separation from my wife of close to 12 years, Jewel May Lobaton. We have been living separately since November 2011.”

Best of friends

Also last year, Lobaton was romantically linked to former Bacolod representative Anthony Rolando Golez and rumors said Golez was the reason for the separation of the Pimentel couple.

Golez and Lobaton denied the rumors, but they were seen together in some public occasions during the election season.

At that time, Lobaton said she would campaign for Golez, who was seeking reelection.

“We are the best of friends. My commitment to him as his friend is, I will stay beside him no matter what other people say,” she said.

Lobaton had also denied allegations that her personal belongings were found in the conjugal home of Golez and his estranged wife, Princess Soraya Jaafar, in Bacolod when the latter had it padlocked.

“Those were not my things. I have no business in the house of congressman Golez,” she said.

“The personal matter between congressman Golez and his wife is none of my business. I am very much aware of it but I am not in a position to comment on that,” Lobaton said.

Napoles who?

Meanwhile, Lobaton also denied knowing businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind in the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

“I do not know Janet Napoles. I did not borrow P10 million from her. I have not met her. When I saw the papers the other day, that was the first time I saw her face,” she said.

Panelo said his client is also complaining about the remark made by Pimentel, who did not clear his estranged wife from any involvement with Napoles. – With Danny Dangcalan, Christina Mendez