Koko Pimentel’s wife gives birth amid coronavirus issue

MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – Kathryna Yu-Pimentel, wife of Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, gave birth to a baby girl on Sunday, March 29, a reliable source confirmed to Rappler. The senator recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus. 

The hospital’s location was not disclosed, and there is still no word of the results of the wife’s tests. 

The baby, named Ma Kathryn Helena, is the couple’s first child. The senator married Kathyrna in October 2018, and has two sons from a previous marriage.

Rappler is not using the photo provided by sources to protect the infant. 

The baby was tested on Monday, March 30, by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM). Rappler obtained a copy of the result showing the newborn was negative for coronavirus.

The couple was embroiled in a controversy after the senator broke his quarantine and accompanied his wife to Makati Medical Center (MMC), where he then learned that he was positive for the virus. He also went grocery shopping at S&R in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig a few days before getting tested. 

MMC Medical Director Saturnino Javier had slammed Pimentel’s action as an “irresponsible and reckless” breach of protocol, as it exposed their staff to the virus and “added to the burden of a hospital trying to respond to its most competent and aggressive manner to cope with the daunting challenges of this COVID-19 outbreak.” 

Citizens have also called for Pimentel’s resignation, while a lawyer has offered help in suing the senator. – Rappler.com