Latest news with #Pimentel
GMA Network
5 days ago
- Business
- GMA Network
Marcos nominates new envoys to Commission on Appointments
President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. has nominated seven new Philippine envoys, according to Surigao Del Sur lawmaker and Commission on Appointments Assistant Minority Leader Johnny Pimentel on Wednesday. In a press statement, Pimentel said the President had issued the nominations last June 2, and ''all were formally received by the Commission on the same day.'' Pimentel said the nominees are as follows: Evangeline Ong Jimenez-Ducrocq - Philippine Permanent Representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia; Bernadette Therese Fernandez - Ambassador to South Korea; Maria Teresa Almojuela - Ambassador to Germany; Alan Deniega - Ambassador to Poland, with concurrent jurisdiction over Lithuania and Ukraine; Gines Jaime Ricardo Gallaga - Ambassador to Bahrain; Marlowe Miranda - Ambassador to Lebanon; and Arvin De Leon - Ambassador to Mexico, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Caribbean nations of Cuba and the Dominican Republic, as well as the Central American countries of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama Pimentel pointed out that unlike ad interim appointments – which take effect immediately pending CA confirmation – nominees cannot assume their posts until they have secured the Commission's consent. The lawmaker added that both the assignment of ambassadors and the promotion in rank of senior foreign service officers require CA approval. The 1987 Constitution states that the 25-member CA is mandated to assess the competence, integrity, and fitness of key presidential appointees, with the authority to either confirm or reject them. "Confirmation hearings serve as an important safeguard, ensuring proper oversight of the President's power to appoint officials to critical diplomatic posts," Pimentel said. The CA is composed of 12 members each from the House of Representatives and the Senate, with the Senate President serving as its ex-officio presiding officer. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA Integrated News
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lake County Recorder Gina Pimentel announces run for auditor in 2026
Lake County Recorder Gina Pimentel will run for Lake County Auditor in 2026, she recently announced. Pimentel, 38, said she can't run for reelection as recorder because of term limits. As she thought about her career, Pimentel said running for auditor seemed like a strong next step because the auditor's office and the recorder's office work together, like during the property transfer process. 'I think this is a good next step,' Pimentel said. 'I am an in-person, hands-on elected official and office holder that has the county's best interest in mind.' In addition to Pimentel's candidacy, Lake County Democratic Chairman Mike Repay said current auditor Peggy Holinga Katona is seeking reelection. In the primary election, Repay said the party will remain neutral on candidates. Lake County Treasurer John Petalas, who has served as auditor in the past, said he is seeking reelection as treasurer. He declined to comment on the auditor's race. If elected, Pimentel said she would focus on retraining employees in the deductions department to ensure people qualifying for a homestead, over the age of 65, disabled and disabled veterans receive the proper deductions. Pimentel said she would take the training with the employees, if elected auditor. Given that deductions are the top reason residents visit the auditor's office, Pimentel said employee retraining on the matter would benefit the office. Further, Pimentel said she would also like to bring back an in-person tax sale process to prevent fraud and increase the collection rate. While doing the tax sale online was efficient during the COVID-19 pandemic, it's a good time to start an in-person process, she said. 'That's something that I would like to play more offense not defense,' Pimentel said. 'There are ways for improvement and there are ways to avoid certain things that do happen in the tax sale.' Pimentel was elected recorder in 2020 after serving 5 years as chief deputy recorder under previous Lake County Recorder Michael Brown, who left office after he and some of his staff were subpoenaed in front of the Lake County Council to answer questions about his absenteeism for 18 months. As recorder, Pimentel said she's most proud of how efficient the office has become. The office has focused on digitizing, imaging and scanning various records and documents, she said. 'We've really utilized the money that my office makes without using taxpayer money to further enhance the office in every which way,' Pimentel said. While she's enjoyed being recorder, Pimentel said she looks forward to running for auditor to continue to serve Lake County residents. 'I love what I do. I'm happy to be at the county. I'm proud to be an elected official, and it's something that I want to continue because I'm just starting out,' Pimentel said. akukulka@
Chicago Tribune
12-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Lake County Recorder Gina Pimentel announces run for auditor in 2026
Lake County Recorder Gina Pimentel will run for Lake County Auditor in 2026, she recently announced. Pimentel, 38, said she can't run for reelection as recorder because of term limits. As she thought about her career, Pimentel said running for auditor seemed like a strong next step because the auditor's office and the recorder's office work together, like during the property transfer process. 'I think this is a good next step,' Pimentel said. 'I am an in-person, hands-on elected official and office holder that has the county's best interest in mind.' In addition to Pimentel's candidacy, Lake County Democratic Chairman Mike Repay said current auditor Peggy Holinga Katona is seeking reelection. In the primary election, Repay said the party will remain neutral on candidates. Lake County Treasurer John Petalas, who has served as auditor in the past, said he is seeking reelection as treasurer. He declined to comment on the auditor's race. If elected, Pimentel said she would focus on retraining employees in the deductions department to ensure people qualifying for a homestead, over the age of 65, disabled and disabled veterans receive the proper deductions. Pimentel said she would take the training with the employees, if elected auditor. Given that deductions are the top reason residents visit the auditor's office, Pimentel said employee retraining on the matter would benefit the office. Further, Pimentel said she would also like to bring back an in-person tax sale process to prevent fraud and increase the collection rate. While doing the tax sale online was efficient during the COVID-19 pandemic, it's a good time to start an in-person process, she said. 'That's something that I would like to play more offense not defense,' Pimentel said. 'There are ways for improvement and there are ways to avoid certain things that do happen in the tax sale.' Pimentel was elected recorder in 2020 after serving 5 years as chief deputy recorder under previous Lake County Recorder Michael Brown, who left office after he and some of his staff were subpoenaed in front of the Lake County Council to answer questions about his absenteeism for 18 months. As recorder, Pimentel said she's most proud of how efficient the office has become. The office has focused on digitizing, imaging and scanning various records and documents, she said. 'We've really utilized the money that my office makes without using taxpayer money to further enhance the office in every which way,' Pimentel said. While she's enjoyed being recorder, Pimentel said she looks forward to running for auditor to continue to serve Lake County residents. 'I love what I do. I'm happy to be at the county. I'm proud to be an elected official, and it's something that I want to continue because I'm just starting out,' Pimentel said.
USA Today
25-04-2025
- USA Today
Rhode Island man gets 20 years after one of the state's largest fentanyl seizures
Rhode Island man gets 20 years after one of the state's largest fentanyl seizures Show Caption Hide Caption On the frontlines of the fentanyl crisis, is Naloxone the answer? Deaths from synthetic opioids are falling. What's behind the promising trend? A Rhode Island man will spend two decades in prison for producing and intending to distribute tens of thousands of fentanyl-laced pills disguised as pain medication, the Justice Department announced. U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. sentenced Jorge Pimentel, also known as "Big Head," to 20 years behind bars after he pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island said in a statement. Law enforcement seized 19,315 fentanyl-laced pills in what federal prosecutors described as one of Rhode Island's largest fentanyl seizures. "The seizure of a combined total of over sixteen kilograms of fentanyl-laced pills and fentanyl powder, an industrial grade high-speed pill press, and twenty-eight thousand grams of cutting agents used in the manufacturer of the fake pill seized in September 2023, is among the largest seizures of fentanyl in Rhode Island," federal prosecutors said. In addition to the pills, federal prosecutors said Pimentel, 36, of Cranston, Rhode Island, had enough fentanyl powder in his drug lab and stash house to create more than 633,000 laced pills. Pimentel's operation netted him $37,000 in sales, prosecutors added. Pimentel was "not a target of an investigation that came to the FBI's attention by happenstance," prosecutors said. "He had been the target of narcotics trafficking by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other state and federal agencies for years." Related: A fentanyl antidote is saving lives. But it isn't ending the fentanyl crisis Prosecutors: Man created dangerous pills in shoddy lab According to a sentencing memorandum prosecutors filed, federal prosecutors said Pimentel knew the pills had fentanyl because he made them and went to great lengths to make them resemble Percocet. "Defendant produced his poison in a dirty storage unit," federal prosecutors wrote. "It wasn't a lab where formulas were measured. There was no scientific formula. Drugs were mixed with blenders, sisters, and red Solo cups." Prosecutors added that Pimentel worked with several associates to distribute the pills, such as a runner whom he hired around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors said Pimentel often had the runner grab pills from the storage unit and deliver them to a customer. When Pimentel created the pills, sometimes as many as 10,000 at a time, he'd have the runner clean up the storage unit, according to court papers. He paid the runner a "few hundred dollars" per delivery and for working in the shop. Federal prosecutors said Pimentel was a "well-established, large-scale fentanyl trafficker" by the time an undercover agent with the FBI organized four controlled sales between May 2023 and September 2023. In a letter addressed to McConnell, Pimentel said he's learned about the harm drug abuse has on people and accepted responsibility for his actions. "The ripple effect of crimes such as drugs in a community is undeniable," he wrote. "It wasn't until I was locked in my cell having to get in-tuned with myself that I had a revelation, forcing me to acknowledge my contribution to the harm suffered by the community." Fentanyl kills thousands of Americans each year Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid used in medical facilities, in small doses, for pain relief, according to Henry Ford Health. Its pain-relieving properties can be addictive and lead to overdose and death. "Fentanyl is becoming so common and it's finding its way into other drugs sold illegally," said Dr. Tyler Trahan, who is an internal medicine doctor and addiction specialist at Henry Ford Health. "It's showing up in counterfeit pain pills, and even in drugs like cocaine and street marijuana." Law enforcement agencies across the country have uncovered drug labs where they said people are creating synthetic pills. In Arizona, a multi-agency drug bust in Phoenix uncovered more than 1,600 pounds of meth, 735,000 fentanyl pills and 47 pounds of fentanyl power in January, enough to kill more than 15 million people, the state's Department of Public Safety said. Arizona has about 7.6 million residents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 79,358 people died from a synthetic opioid overdose in 2023. Measures are in place to help people struggling with addiction, such as fentanyl test strips and the use of Narcan to rescue a person currently overdosing on opioids. Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at knurse@ Follow her on X @KrystalRNurse, and on BlueSky @
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Immigration advocate nun makes journey to Pope Francis' funeral
A Texas nun who advocates for immigrants is making an unexpected journey to Rome for Pope Francis' funeral a decade after the pontiff singled her out for praise during a 2015 ABC News event. Sister Norma Pimentel has been the face of immigrant advocacy in South Texas for more than a decade, overseeing the Rio Grande Valley in her role as executive director of Catholic Charities. Watch ABC News live coverage of the funeral for Pope Francis on Saturday starting at 3:30 a.m. ET on ABC stations and streaming on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu. MORE: Pope Francis live updates: About 61,000 have visited St. Peter's Basilica Speaking to ABC News on Thursday, Pimentel recalled her work with migrant families in 2014 when she helped Border Patrol respond to large groups of families arriving in poor conditions, mostly from El Salvador. She highlighted the community's response at Sacred Heart Parish Hall and discussed the impact of Pope Francis' support. "I visited Rome and wrote him letters and he sent a video message," Pimentel told ABC News. "After that, I was invited to the Vatican a couple of times to speak and I met the Holy Father as well." Pimentel noted the pope's personal connection to migrants' struggles and his constant push for empathy when dealing with refugees. Her response to the 2014 influx is what caught the pope's eye -- and he singled her out during a 2015 ABC News virtual audience to praise her work. 'I want to thank you," the pope said via an interpreter. "And through you to thank all the sisters of religious orders in the U.S. for the work that you have done and that you do in the United States. It's great. I congratulate you. Be courageous. Move forward." From that moment on, the two stayed in touch and she was invited to visit the Vatican several times. Pimentel pointed to Pope Francis' family history -- the son of Italian citizens who immigrated to Argentina. "He connected with immigrants," Pimentel said. Not long after being elected as the leader of the Catholic Church in 2013, Pope Francis visited Lampedusa, Italy, along the dangerous route many migrants traveled to reach Europe. During his visit, he met with migrants and condemned the "globalization of indifference." He urged the world to recognize these individuals as people and human beings, not merely as refugees. The pontiff also recognized Pimentel's work with immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, where she helped provide shelter, food and comfort to thousands of migrants in crisis. MORE: Faithful recall Pope Francis' historic US virtual town hall with David Muir in 2015 Pimentel acknowledged her sadness and grief at the pope's passing, noting that she unexpectedly got the chance to attend his funeral on Saturday. Within 12 hours of his death on Monday, a stranger called her office and asked to sponsor her journey to the ceremony. A journalist that traveled with the pope has also offered her a place to stay. MORE: Gaza's Catholics mourn Pope Francis, who 'never forgot' them during war "So, I'm going representing all of us. You know, I'm going because I want to be there as one of us that is going to be next to him in this moment," she said. "And so I bring all the love and the tears of everybody from the (Rio Grande Valley) from here, from the valley." Immigration advocate nun makes journey to Pope Francis' funeral originally appeared on
