Planholders find champion in Jimenez

Former Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez took the cudgels for a group of education planholders facing arrest for libel as he helped post bail for their temporary release at the Makati City Regional Trial Court yesterday.

Clad in a white shirt and white pants, Jimenez was welcomed by his supporters as well as officials and members of the Parents Enabling Parents (PEP) Coalition.

His promise to issue and turn over a check of P20 million for those allegedly victimized by an insurance firm did not materialize, but he did dish out P30,000 to help post bail for PEP officials who were issued warrants of arrest by Judge Benjamin Pozon of Branch 139.

The amount was added to the cash gathered by the PEP Coalition from donors who did not want to see them jailed. The bail was set at P80,500.

Jimenez was also embraced and applauded by mostly residents of Manila’s 5th and 6th district residents, who trooped to the Makati court.

PEP members and supporters thanked the former lawmaker with banners that read "Follow Mark Jimenez, He Donated for Justice," and "Buti Pa Si Mark Jimenez, May Puso at Awa."

Jimenez brought in hundreds of his former constituents who rallied behind planholders and their children, whose tuition would not be paid.

For several minutes, all eyes were on the man who is donating millions for the benefit of education planholders.

Jimenez entered Makati City’s Gusali ng Katarungan, but did go to the court room where PEP officials were being processed for temporary release.

He left the P30,000 before leaving.

In a brief statement, he said his act of donating millions does not involve politics and that he was not merely riding on an issue.

PEP officials did not mind the circus and kept their focus on the real issue of how the education plan company filed 13 counts of libel against them before nine different courts, which they said was meant to harass them and send them to jail.

They thanked Jimenez for his help and asked businessmen and other rich families to follow his lead and take a stand.

Winnie Bonifacio, one of the PEP officials charged for libel, said if the donation is for justice, "then why reject it since it will help a lot of parents who want to send their children to school."

According to her, their group and the thousands of planholders they are fighting for are slowly earning the support of legislators, businessmen, and even the Church since the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) will soon take a stand and issue a statement on "this moral and ethical issue."

PEP President Philip Piccio said they plan put up a foundation which will handle the donation and distribute the same among qualified scholars upon PEP’s recommendations and the donor’s approval.

He noted that the company actually needs more or less P600 million to pay all education plan obligations this year alone.

Pozon was the second Makati City judge to issue warrants of arrests against 16 PEP officials, who were charged for allegedly libelous statements against the company in the form of blog entries found at pepcoalition.net.