What will happen to talkative Mark?

When the Supreme Court voted yesterday 9-3-3 to deny the appeal of Mark Jimenez, does this mean that a warrant of arrest can now be issued by the Regional Trial Court of Manila, denying the "fugitive" Manila congressman bail?

If this is so, will M.J. be arrested? Where on earth, by the way, is M.J. now? In this city where rumor is faster than a speeding bullet, the House of Representatives yesterday was seething with gossip and speculations. One version was that Mark J., who after all is a member of the House – representing the sixth district of Manila – was already negotiating from his secret bolthole with the following "offers". Mind you, these are rumors from the Lower House where congressmen aren’t always necessarily telling the truth, even in their privileged speeches.

Anyway, Rumor 1 is that M.J. has volunteered to be extradited to the United States (which wants him in irons) if only the government will allow him to first spend Christmas and the remaining holidays with his family: secondly, that they (the American agents) please don’t handcuff him when they take him away.

Rumor 2 is that Jimenez’s only way to evade immediate arrest is to go to the House of Representatives "Batasan" building and hole up there. But this sanctuary is good only up to this Friday. The idea behind this is the law: A congressman can’t be arrested while Congress is in session. The problem is that Congress adjourns this Friday for the Christmas and New Year’s break.

Rumor 3 – from elsewhere – is that a Lear jet of Panamanian registry landed at the airport day before yesterday and was ready to whisk M.J. away – to South America, perhaps to Montevideo in Uruguay.

Rumor 4 is that M.J. wants to withdraw the allegations he was reported to have made about those seven checks "issued" to M. A. – was that Mike Arroyo? Yesterday, in an interview, MJ said there was only one check and not intended to be a bribe. Sus. Before you know it, he might even say it was Senator Serge Osmeña who approved the IMPSA contract, when everybody knows that Serge, and now joined by Sonny O., had been out to squelch the IMPSA deal for the past few years. (In case you’ve forgotten, they’ve investigated IMPSA for years, brought it to court where the Court of Appeals cleared IMPSA, subjected the IMPSA CBK project to hostile scrutiny, not once but twice by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) under both the FVR and Estrada administrations. Will IMPSA’s travails never end? The Lopezes are too broke and too embattled nowadays to take over the CBK project, even if it were now handed to them on a silver platter).

Yet, Mark Jimenez continues creating mischief with his mouth. He has devastated Secretary of Justice (on leave) Nani Perez with his accusations (unproven, though "believed" by too many in the public) and lashed out right and left. Perhaps it’s time the GMA government let the eager Americans have him.

Sure, M.J. has a not-too-surprising number of "loyalists" rushing to his defense in the Lower House. One of the first was the son of the late Senate President Neptali Gonzales, namely the House Majority Floor Leader no less, Rep. Neptali Gonzales Jr. of Mandaluyong. Gonzales roared on TV that the ruling of the Supreme Court did not prevent the House from expressing its "sense" of dissent over the High Tribunal’s decision. In short, he issued a statement declaring that the "rule of the law" must be respected. The indication was that the House would protect M.J. Yes, Tali, but only until Friday. (I wonder what dear old Dad would say, if he, like Banquo’s ghost in Hamlet were briefly to come back to express his views.)

In any event, the "scandal" has gone international. Cable News Network (CNN) yesterday was reporting worldwide that a congressman has been accusing the husband of the Philippine president of corruption and taking bribes. Who else about who else?

The fact is that Mark J. tried to contact the resident agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Jim Nixon, the other day. He was referred to another associate of Nixon’s in the US Embassy. I wonder how the conversation went.

This teledrama is so incredible that, if it were written into a James Bond-type movie script (suggested title: Lie Another Day) even Hollywood might have rejected it as being too improbable a plot.

* * *

Here’s how the Supreme Court voted. For denying the M.J. petition: Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr.; Associate Justices Artemio Panganiban, Vicente V. Mendoza, Antonio Carpio, Alicia A. Martinez, Adolf Azcuna, Renato Corona, Conchita Morales, and Romeo Callejo. Those who dissented: Justices Jose C. Vitug, Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, and Angelina S. Gutierrez. Those who voted that the matter be remanded to Lower Court: Justices Reynato S. Puno, Josue Bellosillo, and Leo Quisumbing.

Justice Panganiban was the ponente of the ruling.

The Regional Trial Court of Manila will still have to officially receive a copy of the High Tribunal’s ruling before taking any action. This means there may not be a move for a few days yet. National Bureau of Investigation Director (General) Reynaldo Wycoco has already gone on TV, though, to say that M.J. will be in custody – within a few days.

But, hey, abangan ang kasunod na kabanata.

* * *

No sooner had we complained of the decrepit and unsafe condition of the aircraft of our obsolescent Philippine Air Force than a PAF Nomad crashed in the water just off Zamboanga. Fortunately, nobody died – at least up to this writing – but several of the passengers, military personnel, were in Zamboanga Hospital.

My special correspondent "Titing" (his code-name) was the first to alert me about the smash-up which occurred about 1:30 p.m. The Nomad had flown to Tawi-Tawi to deliver the payroll and Christmas bonuses to the service personnel there, and was on its way back to Zambo’s Edwin Andrews Airbase when the engine began to sputter over Pilas Isle, near Basilan.

The pilot (a Captain de Leon) nursed the faltering airplane towards Zamboanga, but the engine finally gave up – and the plane plunged into the sea. The Nomad, a propeller aircraft of oh-my-gosh vintage, landed in 20 meters of water, which is the reason nobody among the 13 passengers was killed – although many of them had to be rushed to the Zamboanga hospital with serious injuries. (Is one of the passengers still "missing"?)

The Nomad typifies the disgracefully ancient nature of our PAF fleet. The compressor and turbine of the original Napier F 125 (Nm. 3 Nomad) were first tested in 1948, and in October 1949, the prototype engine was run as a complete unit. I think what we have – or had – is the Nomad 2 version, which went into production in June 1952. In sum, those rickety planes were born at the same time as the fathers of their present pilots!

I repeat: If we don’t want any more tragedies, the government must get our PAF more credible and modern aircraft. Losing planes is bad enough. But the pilots and passengers we lose are irreplaceable.

* * *

Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmeña has done it again! I talked to him on the phone last Sunday and he told me that Cebu City was running well. Then, resentful jeepney drivers and transport leaders staged a wildcat – i.e., illegal – transport strike, intended to paralyze Cebu City and force City Hall to yield to their demands. The strikers vowed to bring everything in the city to a halt so as to compel the government to "forgive" the fines levied on erring drivers – who are arrested or given traffic citations on an average of 800 per day.

Osmeña retorted that he refused to permit traffic violators to get away from the penalties imposed on their violations. When the strikers, last Monday, froze traffic in 70 percent of the city, Osmeña fielded the 30 buses the City of Kaoshiung in Taiwan had donated some years ago to Cebu, got vehicle owners to help ferry workers and employees home and the next day to work; mobilized the city’s fleet of dump trucks to also do "ferry" duties.

Yesterday, Osmeña broke the back of the strike. Many of the "striking" drivers were back at the wheel before noon. The strike was called off at 5 p.m. with the condition that the striking drivers will return to the negotiating table. This is a victory for Osmeña.

You wouldn’t think that Tough Tommy had suffered an almost fatal aneurysm "attack" six months ago, and had to be rushed to the US for a remarkable emergency operation in Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Not only did Osmeña bounce back from his near-brush with death, but he went back to work and the other month was cited by the National Urban Development and Housing Authority (NUDHA) for his accomplishments. He was also named the "Most Outstanding Mayor of All Highly-Urbanized Cities in the Philippines" by a search committee of the Local Government Academy, the training agency of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also commended Mayor Osmeña as the Local Government Executive most supportive of Social Development endeavors.

Way to go, Tommy! You’ve demonstrated once more what a no-nonsense and fearless mayor can do. I wish that more of our officials were as courageous – and dependable. If this were to happen, then we would be, once again, on the way to progress.