Congress can order polls for MJ vacancy

Voting 6-2, the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) said Congress can call a special election to fill the vacancy left in Manila’s 6th District by disqualified Rep. Mark Jimenez.

This, as the HRET again disqualified Jimenez for massive vote-buying as charged by his political rival, Pablo Ocampo Jr.

But the nine-member HRET also said Ocampo cannot declare the votes cast for Jimenez as stray votes and proclaim Ocampo as the duly elected representative of Manila’s 6th district.

The HRET said voters in this district cannot have a substitute congressman if their first choice dies, is disqualified or leaves his post.

In his complaint, Ocampo said Jimenez personally distributed P500 and P1,000 to each resident of the district, in conspiracy with barangay chairmen, council members, watchmen, his relatives and other leaders during his house-to-house campaign in 2001.

Ocampo said Jimenez gave away bags of groceries and money to various barangays and conducted bingo games featuring home appliances such as television sets, refrigerators, stereos, microwave ovens, airpots, rice cookers, electric fans and rice dispensers as prizes.

He said Jimenez also held raffle draws in which winners received cash prizes of P1,000 to 10,000.

Twenty-one witnesses for Ocampo recounted how Jimenez and his political leaders bought votes. They said Jimenez shelled out cash at meetings with barangay leaders and distributed money as he shook hands with residents.

Thirty other witnesses said Jimenez gave away groceries packed in bags marked "Mark to Win."

While Jimenez’s camp presented witnesses to deny the allegations of Ocampo’s camp, the HRET said mere denial of the accusations is disappointing, given the details provided by Ocampo and his witnesses.

On May 23, 2001, Manila’s City Board of Canvassers proclaimed Jimenez the duly elected representative of the 6th District of Manila, with 32,097 votes to Ocampo’s 31,329 votes.

HRET chair and Supreme Court Justice Reynato Puno and Justices Vicente Mendoza and Leonardo Quisumbing and Reps. Joaquin Chipeco (Laguna), Zenaida Ducut (Pampanga) and Douglas Cagas (Davao) voted to disqualify Jimenez. Reps. Magtanggol Gunigundo I (Malabon-Navotas) and Salacnib Baterina (Ilocos Sur) dissented.

The HRET earlier disqualified Jimenez for failing to meet the residency required to be the congressman of Manila’s 6th District.

The tribunal ruled that Jimenez’s actual residence was in Forbes Park, Makati City and not the Manila address which is the residence of his mother-in-law.

Jimenez is now under house arrest in Florida after he was extradited to the United States to face charges of wire fraud, falsification of public documents, illegal campaign contributions to the Democratic Party and other offenses. He left the country voluntarily on Dec. 26, 2002.