Jimenez now a jailbird in Miami

Controversial Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez arrived in Miami, Florida Sunday and was immediately taken by US marshals to the Federal Detention Center.

Jimenez, 55, who is facing charges of mail fraud, tax evasion and making illegal election campaign contributions, arrived at Miami International Airport at about 6 p.m. Sunday (US time) on board United Airlines Flight 1738 after a two-day stay in Guam.

He is expected to make an initial appearance on Monday before US Magistrate Ted Bandstra.

Jimenez was accompanied on the first leg of his trip by Representatives Willie Villarama of Bulacan and Prospero Pichay Jr. of Surigao del Su.

"He was immediately whisked off to a federal detention building. He didn’t go through the usual airport procedures. We didn’t see him, not even his shadow or the convoy that fetched him from the plane," said Pichay.

He said he and Villarama waited for their "missing" colleague at the Miami international airport for about three hours to catch a glimpse of Jimenez.

"It was so frustrating," said Villarama.

Pichay said Jimenez would be brought to court for a bail hearing Monday or Tuesday (Florida time).

Jimenez’s US lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has petitioned the court to release his client on a $100,000 bail.

Pichay and Villarama were separated from their Manila colleague on Friday morning in Guam, their first stop in their long flight to Miami. Jimenez was diverted to Saipan and brought to a district court, where there are no charges pending against him.

Other reports said that Jimenez’s flight was diverted to Saipan due to the damaged condition of Guam’s airport, which was recently hit by a strong storm.

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has assigned a consul to monitor Jimenez’s case in Florida.

The DFA said the Philippines has no consulate in Florida. Ambassador to Washington Albert del Rosario tasked First Secretary and Consul Henry Bensurto to fly there and provide necessary assistance to Jimenez.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople instructed Del Rosario to assign an embassy representative to render consular assistance to Jimenez.

Reacting to news reports that Jimenez complained he was handcuffed while aboard the plane, Ople said he was assured by US officials that Jimenez was being given full protection of US laws, in accordance with the bilateral extradition treaty.

"We had requested that Jimenez not be handcuffed and I have been informed that when he arrived in Guam from Saipan, he was no longer handcuffed," Ople said.

Ople also asked the US to allow "full and unimpeded" access to Jimenez for Philippine consular officials to visit Jimenez at the federal detention center in Miami, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.

He added that while Jimenez was in Agana, Guam, consular officials were given regular access to the congressman but have been requested by US federal authorities not to divulge specific flight plans for security reasons.

Jimenez, after a medical check-up in Guam, "was diagnosed as healthy... and is allowed to make unlimited calls to his defense lawyers," Ople said.

Consul Rosario Lemque and Vice-Consul Charmaine Rowena Aviquivil of the Philippine consulate in Guam were able to talk to the detained congressman yesterday morning.

Lemque noted in her report that Jimenez complained about the abrupt change in his travel arrangements, and was disappointed that things turned out differently from what he expected.

Philippine consulate officials requested and were allowed to bring food and clothes to Jimenez.

In accordance with the congressman’s personal request, the consulate also conveyed Jimenez’s message to his family not to worry because he is in good hands.

Jimenez, facing a US extradition request, voluntarily left the Philippines last Thursday to respond to the indictment produced by a federal task force investigating money illegally funneled to top Democrats.

Jimenez, Florida’s largest donor to the national Democratic Party in 1996, was among at least 28 people charged by the US Justice Department task force created by then-Attorney General Janet Reno in 1997 to investigate allegations of campaign violations.

In the other cases, 22 people were convicted, two were fugitives, one was acquitted, one was fined by the Federal Election Commission and another case is pending.

In its indictment, the US government accused Jimenez of using corporate money to reimburse employees for illegal donations to former US President Bill Clinton and other candidates. Donors were employees of Future Tech International Inc., a Miami computer parts distribution business owned by Jimenez, and Mark Vision Computer, another Miami company owned by a relative.

Jimenez was accused of illegally routing $50,000 to the Democratic National Committee and $33,500 in donations to campaign committees.

The indictment also charged Jimenez with corporate fraud and tax evasion stemming from personal business dealings unrelated to the fund-raising allegations. He is accused of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service by taking business deductions for personal expenses and political contributions made with money from Future Tech.

As a citizen of the Philippines, Jimenez could not legally contribute to American political campaigns.

Jimenez left the US in 1998 and was labeled as a fugitive after the indictment was issued in Miami the following year.

In a related development, Rep. Imee Marcos (KBL, Ilocos Norte) asked the House of Representatives yesterday to inquire into the procedures followed in Jimenez’s voluntary return to the US.

She also asked that the Department of Justice be investigated for its "ineffectiveness" in handling Jimenez’s return and other extradition cases.

"There are reports of inhumane and degrading treatment of Congressman Jimenez by US authorities which will prove to be in violation of the RP-US Extradition Treaty. His plan to attend a bail hearing in Miami last Friday should have happened," Marcos said.

She said Jimenez was not able to make it to his hearing because his US escorts diverted him to Saipan.

"We are not saying MJ is a saint or that he is not guilty, but the fact is he is a congressman of the Philippines, and he is still to be judged by a court," she added.

Marcos stressed that Jimenez’s rights should be respected.