House tribunal unseats Jimenez

First he was sent out of the country. Now he is being sent out of the House.

The House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) ordered extradited Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez yesterday to vacate his congressional seat on the grounds that he failed to prove he is a legitimate resident of the city.

Voting 7-2, the HRET said in a 30-page ruling that Jimenez is ineligible for the Office of the Representative of the sixth district of Manila for lack of residency.

The tribunal, however, dismissed the two other charges leveled against Jimenez — that he was involved in massive vote buying and was a fugitive from justice, which were used to file the complaint seeking his disqualification.

The HRET said proving any one of the three charges against Jimenez is enough ground for his removal from his elective post.

Those who voted to disqualify Jimenez were Supreme Court Justices Reynato Puno, Vicente Mendoza and Leandro Quisumbing, and Reps. Zenaida Ducut and Oscar Rodriguez of Pampanga, Douglas Cagas of Davao del Sur and Salacnib Baterina of Ilocos Sur.

Valenzuela Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo and Laguna Rep. Joaquin Chipeco issued dissenting opinions.

The disqualification case stemmed from the complaints and petition for quo warranto filed before the HRET by former Manila congresswoman Rosenda Ocampo and congressional candidate Bienvenido Abante that Jimenez was not a legitimate resident of Manila and thus, was not qualified to be congressman of the city’s sixth district, which is comprised of Sta. Ana, Sta. Mesa and Pandacan.

Ocampo and Abante also alleged Jimenez engaged in massive vote buying. Jimenez is now under house arrest in Miami, Florida, where he is under trial for wire fraud, six counts of making false statements, 33 counts of illegal campaign contributions to the Democratic Party and a $3.5 million tax evasion suit.

Ocampo and Abante said Jimenez lied when he claimed to be a resident of No. 3445 Magistrado Torres street in Bacood, Sta. Mesa.

The actual residence of Jimenez, they said, is No. 6 Intsia Road, South Forbes Park, Makati City. The y added that Jimenez gave his Makati City address as his place of residence during the extradition proceedings against him.

Records showed that Jimenez was born in Sta. Ana, Manila and had left for the United States in 1980, where he resided for 20 years. He returned to the country on May 10, 1998 and registered as a voter in Manila’s sixth district in December 2000.

The HRET refused to accept Jimenez’s statement that the Manila address was his "political address" and that his Makati mansion is his "business address."

"Can anyone believe that, between the Sta. Mesa house, which belongs to his wife’s mother, and his mansion in the posh Forbes Park in Makati, (Jimenez) would choose to establish his domicile in the first?" the HRET asked in its decision.

While Jimenez said in a radio interview from Florida that his disqualification by the HRET saddened him, he vowed to "fight for it till the end."

"It’s an old issue. It had been settled shortly after I won the election in 2001," Jimenez said of the charges leveled against him by Ocampo and Abante.

The tribunal added that Jimenez did not present any evidence to show that he had taken part in community activities or that he was seen in public places in the sixth district of Manila to show identification with the needs of the area.

Ocampo is the daughter of former Manila sixth district congressman Pablo "Sandy" Ocampo who, along with Abante, ran against and lost to Jimenez. Jimenez won by a margin of less than 1,000 votes.

Under the Omnibus Election Code, a candidate must be a resident of the legislative district where he is running in for at least a year before the election.

Documents showed that the Sta. Mesa apartment was owned by one Conscorcia Castañeda, whom Jimenez’s lawyer Froil Albert Bacungan identified as the mother of Jimenez’s common-law wife, Carolina Castañeda.

The HRET said it has no jurisdiction to rule on the vote buying allegations against Jimenez.

‘No to people power’

Jimenez also asked his constituents in Manila’s sixth district to pray and not resort to street protests. "My constituents should not get discouraged, as my office would continue the delivery of services to them," he said.

In a statement, Jimenez said, "when I was informed by my lawyers of the HRET (decision), I fell silent. After a long pause, I asked them what legal remedies were available to me. They told me that I could file a motion for reconsideration with the HRET. If this fails, I can appeal to the Supreme Court. I told them to go ahead."

"What concerns me the most at this time is not myself," Jimenez said, "but my constituents, whom I have promised to serve as their duly elected representative in Congress. They will be deprived of my services. From the start, I have tried my best to serve them well and to the best of my ability. I only wish that I would have a chance to complete my term, so that I could continue my mandate to serve."

Jimenez’s chief of staff, Francis Ver, said in a statement that the order issued by the HRET unseating Jimenez "is a continuing harassment... and a violation of the true will of the electorate of the sixth district of Manila."

Ver said the "obvious purpose of the HRET ruling is to deprive congressman Jimenez of a venue from which he could expose corruption and abuses in government."

He said that just before Jimenez was extradited to the United States, the Manila legislator had accused top government officials, including resigned justice secretary Hernando Perez, of extortion. Jimenez also accused First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo of accepting monetary contributions from him for foundations in which Mr. Arroyo was involved.

Ver said it is because of these exposes that Jimenez is being harassed and eventually was ousted from his seat in the House.

He called Jimenez’s ouster a "transgression of democracy" because "it is a serious thing to deprive people of their right choice of representative through an alleged technicality."

Mixed reactions

"I feel sympathy, but, at the same time, I feel relieved that this issue is finally settled," House Deputy Speaker Raul Gonzalez said.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos said it is good the HRET "has spoken." She said that though Jimenez can file an appeal, it would be better if the HRET decision is upheld.

Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen said Jimenez will be a big loss to Congress. "(Jimenez) is an expert in economic matters and he’s a real corporate genius."

Jimenez’s disqualification may well leave residents of Manila’s 6th District unrepresented until the 2004 national elections, Manila Councilor Julio Logarta Jr. said.

"Under the law, no election should be held 18 months after the regular election," Logarta said. "The last elections were held in May 2001, which is 22 months ago." — With reports from Aurea Calica, Cecille Suerte Felipe