Johnny Ty Pimentel (born March 29, 1956) is a Filipino politician who is currently serving in the

House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The ...

as the representative of

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

's 2nd district. He previously served as a

deputy speaker Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain ...

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 politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

from 2010 to 2016.

Early life and education

Pimentel was born on March 29, 1956, in

Tandag Tandag, officially the City of Tandag (Surigaonon language#Tandaganon, Tandaganon/Surigaonon language, Surigaonon: ''Siyudad nan Tandag''; cebuano language, Cebuano: ''Dakbayan sa Tandag''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classificatio ...

, Surigao to Vicente Pimentel Sr., the governor of Surigao from 1946 to 1951, and Felicidad Ty. His siblings include Vicente Pimentel Jr. and Alexander Pimentel. He graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a Bachelor of Science in 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 opposition coalition during the 1998 Philippine general election that led to the election of then Vice President Joseph Estrada as President of the Philippines. It was the la ...

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. For example, while the political systems ...

(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 (; abbreviated NPA or BHB) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aiming to consolidate political power from what it sees as the present "bourgeo ...

including two mayors of

Lingig Lingig, officially the Municipality of Lingig, is a 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 from Bara ...

, 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 entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. He officially transferred his voter's registration to

Bislig Bislig, officially the City of Bislig (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

. He secured a second term in

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in which he ran under the ruling

PDP–Laban The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP, ) is a populist political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was previously known as Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban) from 1983 to 2024 as a result of a merger with L ...

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), also known as Oto Castro, 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 ...

of Capiz's 2nd District. Pimentel was elected governor in

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

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 the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. 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 chain ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

. He eventually recovered and received his negative swab test results on August 27. Pimentel was the Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines from 2022 to 2023.

References

{{Reflist Pimentel Johnny Pimentel, Johnny Pimentel, Johnny Pimentel Johnny Pimentel J Pimentel J Pimentel J Pimentel J Filipino Freemasons Filipino politicians of Chinese descent bcl:Johnny Pimentel