Johnny Ty Pimentel (born March 29, 1956) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

politician who is currently serving in the

House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives of the Philippines ( fil, Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas, italic=unset, ''Kamara'' or ''Kamara de Representantes'' from the Spanish language, Spanish word ''cámara'', meaning "chamber") is the lower house ...

as the

representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

Surigao del Sur Surigao del Sur (Surigaonon language, Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Sur''; ceb, Habagatang Surigao; tl, Timog Surigao), officially the Province of Surigao del Sur, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located ...

's 2nd district. He previously served as a

deputy speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

of the House from 2019 to 2020. He also served as vice governor of Surigao del Sur from 1995 to 1998 and later

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

from 2010 to 2016.

Early life and education

Pimentel was born on March 29, 1956 in

Tandag Tandag, officially the City of Tandag ( Tandaganon/ Surigaonon: ''Siyudad nan Tandag''; Cebuano: ''Dakbayan sa Tandag''; fil, Lungsod ng Tandag), is a 5th class component city and capital of the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. Accor ...

, Surigao to Vicente Pimentel Sr., the first governor of the undivided Surigao, and Felicidad Ty. His siblings include Vicente Pimentel Jr. and Alexander Pimentel. He graduated from

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_aff ...

with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management degree.

Political career

Pimentel first entered politics in 1995 when he became the vice governor of Surigao del Sur, occupying the position until 1998. He ran for governor in the 1998 local elections under the

Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino The Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino () was the umbrella political coalition party of the opposition during the May 11, 1998 Philippine general election that led to the presidency of then-Vice President Joseph E. Estrada. It was the larges ...

party but lost to incumbent Primo Murillo. From 2001 to 2010, during the gubernatorial term of his brother, Vicente Pimentel Jr., he served as the provincial administrator. From 2010 to 2016, Pimentel served as governor of Surigao del Sur. In the 2010 gubernatorial elections, he ran under the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party. He then ran under the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

(LP) during the 2013 elections. During his first two years in office, he helped facilitate the release of people captured by the

New People's Army The New People's Army ( fil, Bagong Hukbong Bayan), abbreviated NPA or BHB, is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), based primarily in the Philippine countryside. It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aimi ...

including two mayors of

Lingig Lingig, officially the Municipality of Lingig, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 35,142 people. The municipality is around one and a half hour away f ...

, Roberto Luna Jr. who was captured in May 2010 and Henry Dano who was captured in August 2011. In 2016, Pimentel, running as the LP candidate, won a seat at the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. He officially transferred his voter's registration to

Bislig City Bislig, officially the City of Bislig ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Bislig; fil, Lungsod ng Bislig), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 99,290 people. It is t ...

. He secured a second term in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

in which he ran under the ruling

PDP–Laban Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (), abbreviated as PDP–Laban, is a democratic socialist List of political parties in the Philippines, political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was part of the country's ruling party al ...

party. In July 2019, he was elected Deputy House Speaker and was the designated

spokesperson in the lower house. On December 7, 2020, he was ousted as deputy speaker but then became the chairman of the House Special Committee on Strategic Intelligence, a post formerly occupied by Representative

Fredenil Castro Fredenil Hernaez Castro (born April 27, 1951) is a Filipino politician serving as the Governor of Capiz since 2022. He was the Representative of Capiz's 2nd district from 2001 to 2010 and from 2013 to 2022. He had served as a House Deputy Spe ...

of Capiz's 2nd District.

Personal life

Pimentel is married to Rosalinda Cabreros Cruz. They have four children. On July 27, 2020, Pimentel announced that he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. This was after he underwent

RT-PCR Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a laboratory technique combining reverse transcription of RNA into DNA (in this context called complementary DNA or cDNA) and amplification of specific DNA targets using polymerase cha ...

testing as part of the health protocols instituted for the 5th State of the Nation Address of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

. He eventually recovered and received his negative swab test results on August 27. Pimentel is currently the Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines.

References

{{Reflist Pimentel Johnny Pimentel, Johnny Pimentel, Johnny Pimentel Johnny Pimentel J Pimentel J Pimentel J Pimentel J Filipino Freemasons