MJ on Erap: Lock him up for 100 years

Former Manila congressman Mark Jimenez lashed back at deposed President Joseph Estrada yesterday and said the disgraced leader should serve 100 years in jail for his "sins" against the Filipino people.

Jimenez told The STAR that Estrada should serve a hundred years in prison for approving the $470-million power project of Argentine firm Industrias Metallurgicas Perscarmona, SA (IMPSA).

Jimenez said Estrada merely added to the public confusion over the issue concerning the $2-million extortion complaint that he filed against former justice secretary Hernando Perez.

"We have to finish Erap once and for all. I can’t understand why a plunderer like him can talk freely and sow all this confusion on the IMPSA case. We have to send him to jail for plunder and pay for his sins," Jimenez remarked.

"The next move right now should be to know whether Erap is guilty or not. I’m asking the Arroyo administration, why not finish it (plunder case) now, guilty or not guilty. Then, if he’s guilty, send him to jail for plunder right away," he said.

Jimenez cited himself as an example for paying for his own "sins," like when he spent almost three years in a US prison after being convicted of tax evasion and making illegal political contributions.

Jimenez was extradited to the US in December 2002 and returned to the Philippines three years after serving his jail term.

"I pleaded guilty to my sins. I’ve paid for my sins. I’ve suffered for my sins. And I vowed I will never do it again," Jimenez said.

"Erap (Estrada), after all of these pieces of evidence presented against him, still claims he is innocent. He’s confusing the people. It is only in this country where I see a person in jail who can freely talk to the media and even recommend 12 senatorial candidates," Jimenez said, referring to Estrada’s presenting the opposition’s senatorial bets for the May elections.

Jimenez claimed giving the $2 million to Perez from his own pocket. He said Perez received the money, which came from his bank account and wire transferred to the Cabinet official’s Coutts Bank account in Hong Kong.

Jimenez claimed he has a copy of the telegraphic transfer from his Swiss bank account, which served as "evidentiary documents" of the Ombudsman in finding the prima facie case of extortion against Perez.

"It ($2 million) did not come from IMPSA. It’s my own money," Jimenez said. "It was a telegraphic transfer from my bank account to his (Perez’s) Coutts Bank account," Jimenez pointed out.

The former Manila congressman made the statement after Estrada, detained over the non-bailable offense of plunder before the Sandiganbayan, called on Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to file plunder charges against Perez for allegedly receiving a $2-million payoff to approve the IMPSA deal.

The controversial power plant deal was made during Estrada’s administration but was stopped after Estrada was ousted in 2001.

Then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took over the presidency with Perez as secretary of the Department of Justice, having the power to reject or approve the IMPSA contract.

Estrada insisted the Ombudsman should charge Perez with plunder for the alleged $2-million payoff, noting the complaint of alleged extortion filed by Jimenez against Perez before the Ombudsman on Dec. 23, 2002 was used as basis for the graft case against the former Cabinet official.

Estrada claimed the $2 million was part of the $14-million bribe offered to him by IMPSA through Jimenez who facilitated the approval of the power deal.

Estrada said he rejected the $14-million offer, claiming his administration had adopted a "no sovereign guarantee" policy on all foreign-funded projects.

Estrada explained imposing the policy, after learning that as much as $7.4 billion in sovereign guarantees had been granted by his predecessor, former President Fidel Ramos, to 28 power projects.

After assuming office in June 1998, Estrada said he strictly implemented the "no sovereign guarantee" policy to all foreign-funded projects of the government.

Estrada recalled impressing upon the Argentine president during a state visit to Bueno Aires that he had every intention of honoring the IMPSA contract that, he claimed, he merely "inherited" from Ramos.

Jimenez though pointed out the "conflict of interest" by Estrada when he visited the IMPSA headquarters in Mendoza, Argentina.

"Why should he (Estrada) go to Argentina? It is not just conflict of interest. Why did he go to Mendoza, the place of IMPSA headquarters no less if he really did not approve their contract?" Jimenez asked.

Jimenez dismissed anew reports that he was then working as Estrada’s adviser on Latin-American affairs.

"If I was really his presidential adviser for Latin-American Affairs, why was I not there with him in Argentina?" he pointed out.

Jimenez said he is "the only one telling the truth" about the IMPSA deal as he also denied Estrada’s claims of brokering the power deal with Francisco Ruben Valenti, the top executive of IMPSA in their operations in Asia.

When pressed how much money he has left or estimates of his net worth, Jimenez merely evaded the question.

"Marami akong pera! (I have so much money). Maybe I’m worth more than what people think," Jimenez chortled.

After returning to the country following his imprisonment in the US, Jimenez made his presence known to the public by making donations to charity, triggering talks of his supposed plans to make a comeback in politics.