Posted on 11/20/2005 12:07:16 AM PST by HAL9000
CONTRARY to expectations that he would be giving some prominent people sleepless nights, it would be a more religious, more media-shy Mark Jimenez who will be coming home on Tuesday after nearly two years in a US federal prison, friends said yesterday."He would like to devote his time to God's words," one of the friends told the Inquirer.
But that doesn't mean Jimenez would be all forgiving, the friend indicated.
Except Nani
"He has said he has already forgiven all those who have crossed him, except Nani," he said, referring to former Justice Secretary Hernando Perez whom Jimenez had accused of extorting $2 million from him in a case now pending before the Ombudsman.
The former congressman was extradited to the United States on Dec. 26, 2002, on charges of making illegal campaign contributions to the US Democratic Party and committing tax fraud.
"It's not that he will not pursue it, he expects the government to pursue it," a second Jimenez friend said of the case against Perez. "He [was] served justice so he expects those who have liabilities to [be] serve[d] [it] as well."
Top priority
This friend said being reunited with his family and making up for lost time with them would be Jimenez's top priority.
"He would like to spend time with his family away from media [limelight]," he said. "He's going to be quiet."
His return is timely. Aside from being able to spend Christmas with his family, he will also celebrate his birthday with them on Dec. 31.
One of the friends said he did not expect Jimenez to hold a press conference or grant interviews on his arrival.
Under US escort
Some congressmen will turn up to welcome him but no other VIP treatment awaits Jimenez.
Jimenez is being deported by the United States after serving his sentence and is expected to be on a New York-Seoul-Manila flight scheduled to touch down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 10:55 a.m.
He will be escorted by US authorities as required in deportation procedures.
Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay and other congressmen-friends will be on hand to welcome him back as he disembarks from a Korean Airlines flight.
Pichay's humor
"I will say 'Hi! How was the American prison? Was there discrimination there?'" Pichay quipped.
Pichay said Manila Rep. Joey Hizon and ex-Congressmen Willie Villarama and Didagen Dilangalen might join him, recalling that he and Villarama were among those who accompanied MJ on his flight to the US when he was extradited.
His family is expected to meet him as well.
As he fought his extradition case in 2002, Jimenez exploded charges of corruption against the Arroyo administration. He said Perez extorted $2 million for the approval of a contract with the Argentine firm Impsa.
Up to Ombudsman
He also said he gave P8 million to the Lualhati Foundation of the President and her husband Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo.
Perez and Mr. Arroyo have denied the allegations.
"He hasn't said anything about GMA before so I don't expect him to say anything against her when he returns," Pichay told the Inquirer.
Pichay said he did not expect Jimenez to personally go after Perez.
"The case is already pending in the Ombudsman. It's beyond MJ now. It's up to the Ombudsman to file the necessary charges," Pichay said.
Mayor of Manila?
Pichay said he could not second-guess Jimenez's political and other plans after settling back in Manila. There has been talk that Jimenez, who had been unseated as a congressman of Manila, would run for mayor of the capital in 2007.
A close friend said Jimenez's family was strongly against his plunging back into politics.
When Jimenez left the country, he bewailed that there was "no justice" here and that his extradition was "only the beginning. I shall return."
The Clintons sure have a lot of friends in jail.
krinton krime klub ping.
Who’s afraid of Mark Jimenez?
A former Manila congressman who served time in US jail for making illegal campaign contribution and tax fraud will be back in Manila tomorrow.
Mark Jimenez, former congressman of Manila’s sixth district, is said to have forgiven all those who have committed “sins” on him while he was a businessman and politician in Manila but would not likely forgive a former Cabinet member.
A source close to Jimenez said “he’s coming back with joy and without great hatred. He will be reunited with his family to makeup for lost time.
Jimenez will fly to Manila via the New York-Seoul-Manila flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport about 10:55 a.m. tomorrow. He is expected to be met by former Bulacan Rep. Willie Villarama and Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay.
Villarama and Pichay are two of Jimenez’s close colleagues who accompanied him on Dec. 26, 2002 when he was extradited to the US on tax fraud charges.
In a privilege speech at the Lower House in 2002, Jimenez accused former Justice Hernando Perez extorted from him some $2 million in commissions from the $470 million hydroelectric power contract awarded to the Argentine firm Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona Sociedad Anonima (Impsa) deal.
The Impsa deal was perfected during the stint of former President Estrada but was stopped when Estrada was ousted in Jan. 21, 2001 by a people’s power revolt now known as Edsa 2.
But Perez, according to Jimenez, asked him on Feb. 13, 2001 some $2 million for the continuation of the implementation of the Impsa deal under the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo government.
On Feb. 23, 2001, Jimenez said he deposited the amount demanded by Perez in numbered accounts at the Courts Bank in Hong Kong. The Impsa deal pushed through allegedly after the deposit was made.
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