Government may suspend extradition of ‘MJ’

The government may suspend the extradition of businessman Mark Jimenez if he testifies on corruption charges against deposed President Joseph Estrada, Justice Secretary Hernando Perez said yesterday.

At the same time, Perez revealed that two other Estrada cronies have expressed willingness to help the government pin down the deposed president on corruption and plunder charges.

"Two more persons reputed to be close to the former president sent feelers through their lawyers who came to see me this morning. They are interested in offering themselves to testify against Estrada," Perez told reporters at the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday.

Perez refused to identify the two new witnesses just as he refused to confirm or deny if it was indeed Jimenez whom government pro-secutors are interviewing regarding Estrada’s alleged involvement in various illegal transactions.

But the DOJ chief said the government may agree to suspend the extradition if Jimenez can make substantive contributions to the go-vernment’s case against Estrada.

"If he is needed by the Philippine government, we’ll move for the suspension of the extradition. That’s what we will do if he comes out," Perez said in an interview over radio station dzMM.

But sources told The STAR that Jimenez, who was evasive when he first met with government prosecutors, has become more detailed in his revelations of how Estrada allegedly enriched himself through illegal deals with big corporations.

"Madulas pa siya pero ma-kuwento... at mahaba mag-kuwento (He’s still slippery but he’s talking... and he’s talking lengthily)," the source said.

Insiders told The STAR that Jimenez met again yesterday with DOJ officials — their second — but details of the four-hour, closed-door meeting were not immediately available.

The same sources confirmed the other day that Jimenez named several companies which engaged in transactions with Estrada, including the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), the former Philippine Commercial International Bank (PCIBank) and Equitable Banking Corp., among others.

But Perez, without actually naming Jimenez, said the two new witnesses may be more important since the first witness (Jimenez) was not accompanied by a lawyer and didn’t offer sufficient documentary evidence to pin down Estrada.

"We’re careful with this matter because that person may even be more guilty than the former president and we would not want the most guilty person to escape prosecution simply because he testified against the former president," Perez said.

"What we’re after here is the prosecution of the guilty and not the persecution of former President Estrada," Perez stressed, adding that government has not accepted the three witnesses’ offers.

Sources had earlier disclosed that Jimenez may reveal details on Estrada’s participation in the merger of Equitable and PCIBank, the largest merger in Philippine banking history.

The merger involved state pension fund Social Security System (SSS), which was then under the control of Estrada’s childhood friend Carlos Arellano.

Jimenez likewise made mention of how Metro Pacific Corp. chairman Manuel Pangilinan was allegedly "victimized" by Estrada while Jimenez was brokering Metro Pacific’s P30-billion acquisition of PLDT.

Meanwhile, the SSS confirmed that it had significant stakes in PLDT and the merged Equitable-PCI Bank but denied that SSS transactions on these shares were ever tainted with any anomaly.

"The SSS has investments with PLDT and Equitable PCI Bank, which are blue chip companies and are profitable investments. SSS has earned huge profits from these investments, and the earnings have helped enhance members’ benefits," said SSS assistant vice president Joel Palacios.

The SSS realized actual earnings of P2.86 billion from its PLDT stocks and P308.77 million from its Equitable PCI shares, Palacios added.

"All the investment activities of the SSS fall within the trading rules set by the institution’s charter. We are also proud to say that SSS’s transactions were never tainted with any anomaly," Palacios said.

Tan, Dichaves are new witnesses?

Perez clarified that the testimony of the two new witnesses would have nothing to do with Estrada’s impeachment cases but would deal with other irregularities.

DOJ sources reveal that the two new witnesses are BW majority owner and alleged Estrada partner Dante Tan and businessman Jaime Dichaves.

The source said Tan has sufficient reason to testify because he claims to have lost billions when he stuck with shares at a high price when other brokers started selling the stock allegedly at the instance of Jimenez.

It was not clear, however, why Dichaves would want to testify against Estrada except that he would want to dodge cases that may be filed against him.

Dichaves had earlier claimed to own the controversial Equiitable-PCI Bank trust account under the fictitious name "Jose Velarde," whose real owner is allegedly Estrada.

Dichaves had also claimed ownership of one of the mansions Estrada allegedly bought for one of his mistresses.

But the DOJ chief refused to confirm or deny if Tan or Dichaves were the ones who approached him. He even expressed shock that Jimenez was identified by The STAR.

"It is true that we have a new witness, but we are not ready to reveal his identity because firstly, his security is being protected," Perez said.

"When I get to the office, I will find out where the leak came from, but I can not deny nor confirm that the witness we are talking to is Mark Jimenez," he added.

However, House Majority Leader Sergio Apostol (Lakas, Leyte) confirmed that Jimenez had expressed interest in testifying even during the impeachment trial against Estrada.

Estrada was impeached on Nov. 13 last year and his trial at the Senate commenced on Dec. 7 but the impeachment trial was overtaken by the civilian uprising that ousted Estrada on Jan. 20.

"During the impeachment trial, there were already ongoing talks on that," Apostol also told radio station dzMM. "Maybe it could have been renewed again and he may have agreed to testify."

Senate Minority Leader Teofisto Guingona Jr. said that Jimenez has no choice but to testify, otherwise the government would happily extradite him to the US.

"It’s understandable because if he doesn’t he will be included in the plunder case or be extradited to the US," Guingona said.

Jimenez, also known as Mario Crespo, is sought by the US federal government for tax evasion, mail fraud and illegal contributions to the campaign of former President Bill Clinton.

Washington had asked for his extradition last year, but this has been repeatedly delayed by technicalities and an order by the Supreme Court granting Jimenez the right to have access to confidential details of the extradition process.

Jimenez, barred from leaving the country since October, may have agreed to testify against Estrada in exchange for his continued stay in the country.

Jimenez, Estrada’s former adviser on Latin American affairs, is reputed to be among the former president’s closest cronies and had allegedly helped Estrada in a number of illegal deals.

Estrada unfazed

But Estrada appears to be unfazed and even welcomed reports that Jimenez would testify against him.

"Even if that’s Mark Jimenez, they are innocent and they will prove it in court," said one of Estrada’s former aides.

The aide said Estrada, his wife Luisa, their son San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada and other members of their family have changed their telephone and cellphone numbers because they felt harassed by calls and text messages they had been receiving.

"That is why they decided to change their telephone and cellphone numbers. The fact of the matter is they want to have a little peace and lead a quiet life," the aide said.

The aide said the former first family had been receiving "tons" of hate messages from unknown persons. — With reports from Delon Porcalla, Non Alquitran