MJ: Perez extorted $2-M from me

Finally, the purported victim in an alleged $2-million extortion case came out in the open yesterday.

In a privileged speech filled with emotion, Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez categorically accused Justice Secretary Hernando Perez of extorting $2 million from him and urged the justice chief to resign.

Jimenez said he was confirming the exposé of his colleague, Bulacan Rep. Willie Buyson Villarama, on the "$2 Million Man" in President Arroyo’s Cabinet.

"I confirm that Mr. Perez is an extortionist. I accuse him of extorting $2 million from this representation," said Jimenez, whose colleagues had been expecting his exposé since last week.

Later, in answer to questions from Minority Leader Carlos Padilla, Jimenez told his listeners, who included his wife Carol and son Marcel, that he "wired" the huge sum from his bank account in Latin America — where he did business before returning home in May 1998 — to Perez’s account in Coutts Bank in Hong Kong.

Jimenez said he was willing to waive the secrecy of his bank deposits so investigating agencies could easily trace the wire transfer. He challenged the embattled justice secretary to do the same.

He said he would soon file a case for extortion against Perez with the Office of the Ombudsman, to which he would submit all the pertinent documents in his possession.

In an interview with ABS-CBN, Jimenez dismissed accusations of Perez that he was raising the extortion issue only at this time because his extradition was imminent. Jimenez said his extradition was up to the Manila regional trial court and not Perez.

In his exposé, Villarama had revealed two documents that apparently came from Jimenez.

The papers show the money flow: the $2 million came from the Trade and Commerce Bank in Uruguay and was routed through the Trade and Commerce Bank in the Cayman Islands and Chase Manhattan Bank in New York before it ended up in Coutts Bank in the former British colony.

The documents indicated the "beneficiary account" in Coutts Bank: Account No. HO 13706.

One of the documents, a deposit detail report prepared by Trade and Commerce Bank, is dated Feb. 23, 2001, or a month after Mrs. Arroyo took over from ousted President Joseph Estrada.

Villarama asked Mrs. Arroyo yesterday to act expeditiously on Perez’s case "before it is exploited by her critics, including those in the military and civil society."

"Rumors about a supposed coup are flying thick and fast again. She has to act on a corruption case that is without parallel," he said.

It was The STAR that broke the story about the "Million-Dollar Man" on Nov. 11.

The Manila congressman’s "I accuse" charge is reminiscent of the "I accuse President Estrada" privilege speech of then opposition Sen. Teofisto Guingona Jr. that eventually led to the downfall of Estrada.

In his speech that lasted one hour and a half, Jimenez told his colleagues that the alleged extortion "started in the third week of January 2001 and was consummated one month later, on Feb. 23."

He said it was arranged by businessman Ernest Escaler, a friend and "front" of Perez.

He denied reports that Escaler is his friend.

"It was you (Perez) who brought Escaler to many tycoons and taipans. Where is Lucio Co, the biggest smuggler, now? His businesses are flourishing all over," he said.

Escaler belongs to the rich Escaler-De Leon family that has its roots in Pampanga. He is a distant cousin of Villarama, whose mother hails from Bacolor town in Mrs. Arroyo’s province. He shuttles between New York and Manila and is the producer of Lea Salonga’s latest Broadway show.

Escaler was not available for comment.

Co, on the other hand, like Jimenez, was an Estrada friend. However, the deposed president once accused Co of being one of the country’s biggest smugglers and asked Customs to investigate him. Nothing came out of such an investigation, if it was conducted.

Co runs the Puregold chain of duty-free and retail stores, among other businesses. He is frequently seen in exclusive golf clubs with a member of the President’s family.

Jimenez said that about three weeks before the alleged extortion was consummated, Perez went to his Forbes Park (Makati) house and tried to force him to testify against Estrada.

‘Curses, slander’

He said when he refused, the justice secretary "cursed and slandered me in front of my family, and threatened me with imprisonment."

"Nothing can be more painful than being slandered in front of one’s family," he said.

Jimenez said Perez called him a whore’s son and was giving him (Perez) the runaround, and that the justice secretary promised to throw him in the Quezon City jail where he would grow boils.

He described Perez as "evil-spirited, cruel, ruthless, a remorseless man" and even as an "assassin."

He claimed that the justice secretary first tried to discredit him in the eyes of the public through damaging stories in the media that pictured him as a criminal.

"He would have me extradited or deported by hook or by crook, including swapping me for (Atong) Ang (also an Estrada friend, who is facing extradition to the Philippines in the US). He badly wanted that I would not be elected to Congress or proclaimed as an elected representative. And if all else fail… he would have me silenced. Forever," Jimenez said.

He revealed that he offered to voluntarily return to the US so he could face the charges against him, but that the justice secretary rejected his offer so he could jail him.

It was with this "character" of Perez in mind that he agreed to come across with $2 million (about P100 million in February 2001), he said.

"It was loose change that could be earned compared to my family’s peace of mind," said the richest member of Congress who is worth more than P300 million.

However, the "attack" on him continued even after he parted with his $2 million, he said.

In near tears and choking with emotion, he told his colleagues that he kept his silence, preferring to endure the "suffering" of his family but changed his mind when his youngest son, an eight-year-old, returned from school one day "because he saw in the newspapers the jail that Mr. Perez was preparing for me."

During the question-and-answer period, Jimenez showed his intolerance for queries of some of his colleagues by raising his voice and accusing them of being on Perez’s side.

At one point, he asked Padilla if he was acting as counsel for the justice secretary.

But he later pleaded for their understanding, telling them they should realize the pain and suffering he and his family have being going through.

In a related development, the Balgos and Perez law office, in representation of the justice secretary, has threatened Villarama with criminal and civil charges if he did not take back his accusations against Perez.

Villarama himself furnished reporters copies of the letter sent to him by the law office yesterday.

However, he said he was standing by his statements against Perez.

"I am happy that the victim has now come out to tell the truth," he said.