Former Bb. Pilipinas-Universeand Miss MassKara Queen Jewel May Lobatonfiled for a Church annulment of her marriage to Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III before Msgr. Victorino Rivas, who heads the Marriage Tribunal of the Diocese of Bacolod, yesterday.

At a press conference in Bacolod, Lobaton said she and her husband agreed that she will file the Church annulment as he is 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 court, she said.

“We cannot anymore live together as husband and wife but we can live together as a family with our children,” she said, pointing out that they have two sons aged 8 and 2 whose custody they share.

Lobaton said she and the senator remain friends, they have assured each other that they will not destroy each other, because at the end of the day, what is important is that their children remain happy.

In May, the senator issued a statement saying “I confirm my separation from my wife of close to 12 years, Jewel May Lobaton. We have been living separately since November 2011.”

She and the senator were married in Cagayan de Oro, but Lobaton said Rivas told her it is all right if she filed for annulment in Bacolod since she is a resident of the city.

Lobaton said she disclosed her move for an annulment “so I can fully move on with my life…I’m fixing my life, he (the senator) is fixing his life.”

Asked if she will campaign for Pimentel, she said “When people ask me about him, I will just tell them that he will become a good senator, so it’s their choice.”

“I wish him well and I will pray for him,” she said.

She will vote for Pimentel and Juan Miguel Zubiri for the Senate, Lobaton also said.

Lobaton said she will vote for Zubiri because he is her relative and she believes he will become a good senator also.

Lobaton also said she will campaign for Rep. Anthony Golez, who is seeking reelection as congressman of Bacolod.

“We are best of friends, my commitment to him (Golez) as his friend is I will stay beside him no matter what other people do,” she said.

But getting into another relationship is not in her priority list as of now, she said. Lobaton said she is focused on her Ang Batang Pinoy Movement that advocates children’s rights and Jam Steps, an aerobic-dance exercise, campaign for the youth.

But she is not closing her doors to falling in love again, “if there is one right man that God will give me who am I to refuse because I think I deserve to be happy,” Lobaton added.

Lobaton said allegations that her personal belonging were found in the conjugal home of Golez and his estranged wife, Princes Soraya Jaafar Golez, in Bacolod when the latter had it padlocked are all fabricated.

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

Lobaton said she does not know the princess, she would not be able to recognize her if she saw her in a crowd.

“The personal matter of congressman Golez and his wife is none of my business. I am very aware of it, I know about it but I am not in the position to comment on that,” she said.

She also denied allegations that she was the cause of the breakup of their marriage. “Before I came into the life of Congressman Golez, he had been separated from his wife for almost two years already,” she said.

Lobaton said she and the congressman are seen together because they work together on projects and shared advocacies. Malice should not be put into her special friendship with the congressman, they know their bounds and limits, she added.

“Whether or not it will prosper into a deeper relationship, boyfriend- girlfriend relationship, husband-wife relationship, that’s up to God,” she said.

She also said a photo of her kissing the congressman circulating in Bacolod is also fabricated, perhaps because it is political season.

Lobaton said she will make sure her lawyers find out who is responsible for circulating the photo, although she has an idea who it is, so legal action can be taken.

“I have two minor children to protect and I have to preserve myself as a woman,” she said.

Meanwhile, Lobaton said Ang Batang Pinoy will re-launch Jamstep Philippines on Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia and they are expecting the presence of the President and Vice President.

It will be held in key cities in the Philippines, like Bacolod, on October 22, she said.

Lobaton said they are also promoting the concert of Kuh Ledesma dubbed “Dungganon sg Bacolod”, which is hosting Ilonggo talents like the PBB Teen winners, at the University of Saint La Salle in Bacolod on Saturday.

The concert is being held to raise money for the Ang Batang Pinoy Negros Occidental High School Microsoft building, she said.*CPG/CGS

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