56 congressmen move to expel MJ

Fifty-six administration and opposition legislators moved yesterday to formally expel their former colleague Mark Jimenez, who they said is still receiving his salary as a congressman of Manila.

Jimenez, despite facing criminal charges in the United States where he is out on bail, continues to partake of other benefits and disburse pork barrel allotments to fund projects in Manila’s sixth district, they said.

Lawmakers from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) and the party-list lawmakers from Akbayan, Bayan Muna and the Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) filed a resolution for the House to remove Jimenez from the rolls of Congress, since the House Electoral Tribunal (HRET) had already ruled with finality that Jimenez should vacate his office.

Davao del Sur Rep. Douglas Cagas (NPC), who is a member of the nine-man HRET, said Jimenez filed a motion for reconsideration before the tribunal and a motion for injunction before the Supreme Court, but both motions were denied.

"It is a great injustice for the leadership of the House not to act on the final and executory decision of the HRET," Cagas said. "The failure of the SC to issue a temporary restraining order gives Congress no reason to delay the implementation of the HRET order."

He said that under the Constitution, the HRET is the sole judge of electoral disputes involving members of the House and its decision is unappealable.

On March 6, the HRET declared Jimenez ineligible to represent the sixth district of Manila — which covers Sta. Ana, Sta. Mesa and Pandacan — for lack of the required one-year residency and ordered him to vacate the office.

On March 27, the HRET declared that Jimenez had engaged in massive vote-buying and disqualified him. – Paolo Romero