Koko’s wife on split: It’s time to move on

MANILA, Philippines - Former beauty queen Jewel May Lobaton, the estranged wife of Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, said yesterday she is now moving forward from 13 years of marriage with the lawmaker.

“I have done everything I could for the family to work,” Lobaton said in a live interview with ABS-CBN News Channel’s Headstart with Karen Davila.

“I’m moving forward. What else do I need to do? I have to close this chapter of my life. I have a lot of responsibilities,” she added.

Lobaton’s interview came a week after she filed a petition for annulment before the Quezon City regional trial court on Sept. 4. She was accompanied by her lawyer, Salvador Panelo.

Lobaton said she does not want the failed marriage to affect other areas of her life, adding that filing a petition for annulment had helped her.

“It’s very painful up to now, that’s why I’m seeking help from counselors, psychologists and spiritual advisers,” she said. “It’s time to move on and celebrate life.”

In her petition, she cited Pimentel’s alleged psychological incapacity as grounds for the annulment. She claimed that she suffered mental and psychological abuse from her husband.

Pimentel has yet to comment on Lobaton’s allegations.

No physical abuse

Lobaton maintained in her interview that she was not physically abused by her husband.

During the May elections, senatorial candidate Juan Miguel Zubiri accused Pimentel of physically abusing Lobaton. The former beauty queen said yesterday that she came out to correct her cousin’s allegation.

She also denied rumors that she tried to borrow money from Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind in the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

“I’d like to say that I don’t know Napoles and that I did not borrow any money from her,” she said.