What blank check for PPC? – MJ

Businessman Mark Jimenez denied yesterday reports that he gave a blank check to the administration’s People Power Coalition (PPC) as a campaign contribution.

Jimenez, in a statement, said he "never gave any blank check to any official or candidate of the People Power Coalition."

"Any report to that effect is absolutely false and could be motivated by malice," he stressed.

Jimenez explained that he has not been approached by any candidate from the PPC Senate slate nor has any PPC campaign officer sought financial support from him.

He said some parties may be trying to intensify their campaign to discredit him and the PPC Senate slate at the same time by circulating this "fabricated, malicious and weird story."

"No businessman worth his salt would give a blank check to a politician at this time," said Jimenez, who is also seeking the congressional seat of the sixth district of Manila.

He also lamented the spate of negative stories about him, saying "this is what one gets when one is a sincere candidate who wants to serve our people."

Jimenez said he has been doing charitable work for more than two years now, targeting the "poorest of the poor" communities in Manila and elsewhere in Metro Manila.

He has operated soup kitchens and fed thousands of people regularly, shunning the limelight as he did so. To further boost the computer skills of the youth, hundreds of students are taking up computer courses under his scholarship program, he added.

PPC frontrunner, re-electionist Sen. Franklin Drilon also denied the blank check report and branded the story as a "malicious intrigue."

"We have not received anything (from Jimenez) and we don’t intend to receive anything from him," Drilon told The STAR after delivering the commencement address during the graduation rites of the University of Northern Philippines.

"I wish it were true but it’s not. That’s a malicious intrigue," Drilon said.

Jimenez made the denial after a PPC insider, during the PPC campaign sortie in Southern Mindanao, claimed the businessman gave a blank check to a coalition leader as a campaign contribution.

The PPC insider had claimed that the cash-strapped coalition was tempted to accept the contribution but other PPC leaders objected to the contribution supposedly because of the legal problems Jimenez is facing.

While in Davao, the PPC leadership also sought to find the right formula in resolving the squabbles among PPC local leaders who are running for similar posts in the coming May 14 elections.

"We are still looking for the formula, but we will eventually resolve it," Vice President and PPC campaign manager Teofisto Guingona said. Among the heated cases that bug the PPC is the contest between incumbent Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario of the ruling Lakas-NUCD-UMDP and former Ambassador Roberto Sebastian of Reporma, who are both running for governor.

Guingona, however, ruled out "free zones" in conflict areas, like Davao del Norte and Iloilo.

"Free zone is not an option. There’s got to be a solution," he said. "These local candidates have been asking that they be given primary preference in their areas. You cannot really prevent these local candidates from running."

However, Compostela Valley Rep. Roger Sarmiento said his case with incumbent Gov. Jose Caballero is unmanageable and beyond solution.

Caballero, a known ally of disgraced President Joseph Estrada, has been appointed PPC provincial chairman in spite of Sarmiento’s seniority in the Lakas-NUCD party.

"What the PPC should do now in areas where there are conflicts is for the coalition to strike a balance. That they may have to make sure that they that will ensure support for the 13 senators," Sarmiento said.

Meanwhile, the three-day special session of Congress will reportedly result in a disruption of the coalition’s campaign schedule for the Southern Tagalog region.

The PPC was set to barnstorm key towns in Quezon province, the bailiwick of Quezon Rep. and senatorial candidate Wigberto "Bobby" Tañada.

The PPC over the past two weeks has barnstormed vote-rich areas of Cagayan de Oro City, Laguna, Metro Manila, and Tarlac. — Edith Regalado, Teddy Molina, Perseus Echeminada