Mark Jimenez, Imelda eyeing same Manila congressional seat

Presidential friend Mark Jimenez, who is a fugitive in the United States, was among those seen jostling with the crowd that trooped to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Manila last Wednesday to register as a voter in the same district where former First Lady Imelda Marcos belongs.

Rumors have it that Jimenez and Marcos are eyeing the same congressional seat in the May 2001 elections.

Jimenez came at about 4:30 p.m. to beat the 5 p.m. deadline, accompanied by his wife, a lawyer, an employee, and two bodyguards, said Comelec personnel interviewed by The STAR.

"We did not realize right away that it was Mark Jimenez because of the crowd. We only realized later that it was him," said an employee of the Manila Comelec office.

Registration is necessary for those who wish to vote or run in the coming May synchronized elections, particularly those who have not renewed their registration in the past or have newly reached the voting age of 18.

Jimenez reportedly registered as a resident of Barangay 616 in Bacood, Sta. Mesa. The area is within Manila’s District 6, the same district where former First Lady Imelda Marcos has also registered as a voter a few months back.

Comelec employees have confirmed that Marcos has transferred her registration from Leyte to Manila. But people close to Marcos have affirmed that the former First Lady is bent on aspiring for the mayoralty and not a congressional seat anew.

Marcos was once Leyte province’s congressional representative until she ran for President in 1998 and lost. She was once the governor of Metro Manila, a position created for her, the precursor of the Metro Manila Development Authority, while she was concurrently Minister of Human Settlements, during the dictatorial regime of her late husband.

Marcos’ possible vice-mayoralty bet is still undetermined as the Bagatsings, an influential political family in Manila and long-time Marcos family friends, have reportedly turned down her offer for one of them to be her running mate.

Manila is divided into six legislative districts which, like other districts, each elect a representative to the Lower House of Congress. The incumbent District 6 representative, Sandy Ocampo, is on her third and last term.

Jimenez is under extradition to the United States to face charges of illegal campaign contributions in a US election, among others. He was President Estrada’s former adviser for South American affairs.

Another requirement for local candidates is to establish residence in the place which they plan to represent, a minimum of six months for councilors and one year for congressmen.

"He seems to have been a resident of Bacood for some time because people from there, who were here when he came, recognized him and attested that he has been living in Bacood," said one Comelec staff member.

District 6 includes Sta. Mesa, Pandacan, Sta. Ana and San Miguel. Marcos has been designating her address as Pandacan, Manila in her court pleadings for cases in the Supreme Court.