Jimenez takes oath as solon before SC justice

Businessman Mark Jimenez took his oath yesterday as congressional representative of the sixth district of Manila before Supreme Court (SC) Justice Santiago Kapunan.

Jimenez, 54, former President Joseph Estrada’s adviser on Latin American affairs, took his oath at Kapunan’s sixth floor office at the SC with a handful of supporters as witnesses.

"I chose the SC because the SC is the power of democracy," said Jimenez who vowed to make Manila’s sixth district, covering the districts of Sta. Mesa, Sta. Ana and San Miguel, a model by providing and improving basic services, like the supply of potable water and elementary and secondary education facilities.

Jimenez took his oath in the midst of a courtroom battle to fight off a petition for extradition lodged by the government before a Manila regional trial court.

For the second straight day, Jimenez appeared in the sala of Manila RTC Judge Guillermo Puruganan of Branch 42 to oppose the government’s move to have a warrant of arrest issued against him.

The government asked for the arrest orders supposedly to prevent Jimenez from fleeing the country to avoid extradition to the US where he is wanted for a string of criminal charges.

Instead of being issued a warrant of arrest, Jimenez asked the court to allow him to post a bail bond of P100,000 so that he could serve his constituents even as he fights the extradition petition.

Jimenez, whose real name is Mario Crespo, is charged before a Florida court with two counts of conspiracy to defraud the US government, four counts of tax evasion, two counts of wire fraud, six counts of false statement and 33 counts of illegal contributions to the US Democratic Party campaign fund for former US president Bill Clinton.

But his lawyers in the US are challenging the arrest warrant issued by south Florida district court Judge Robert Dube, claiming the cases are only meant to politically harass him.

Jimenez has been struggling to fend off his extradition since the US government asked the Philippines to extradite him shortly after he arrived in the country in 1998.

Despite his close association with Estrada, the Department of Justice filed extradition proceedings against him but he challenged the DOJ move before the SC, claiming he should be informed of the charges for which he would be extradited.

Kapunan was among the justices who voted to order the government to provide him with the criminal information before extradition proceedings could be filed against him, but the SC ruled otherwise.

Meanwhile, Jimenez was tapped to testify against Estrada in connection with some business transactions that are part of the government’s plunder charge against the former president.

The Ombudsman said the government may ask for a deferment of the extradition process if Jimenez offers fresh evidence that would pin Estrada on the P346 million he allegedly received from Jimenez.

The Ombudsman on Thursday directed Jimenez to submit a supplemental affidavit on P346 million in checks.

Jimenez stated in his affidavit that he "personally hand delivered each check" to the former president on separate occasions during his term – from December 1998 to August 2000 – all of which were drawn from his Bank of Commerce account.

Desierto submitted Jimenez’s name in the Sandiganbayan as a witness in the Belle Corp. investment case but the Ombudsman has not filed any complaint regarding the P346 million Jimenez allegedly gave to Estrada.

In opposing the government’s appeal for a warrant of arrest, Jimenez contended he is enrolled under the government’s Witness Protection Program as a state witness in the plunder charge against Estrada.

But the government maintains that Jimenez can simply execute a deposition on the charges against Estrada and can thus be extradited to satisfy the country’s treaty obligations with the US.

The government holds that Jimenez must be detained to ensure that he would not be able to flee and escape his extradition, which would satisfy the country’s treaty obligations with the US.