Mark Jimenez is back

Wretchard's favorite guy is back in the news.

Malaya Editorial: Who’s afraid of MJ?

Jimenez filed the plunder complaint in December 2002. At this time, the Supreme Court had dismissed his petition questioning his extradition to the United States. So the impression was that it was an act of desperation, a last-minute bid to establish himself as a key witness in a high-profile graft case, hoping to . stay his extradition.

In 2003, however, the Swiss government provided the Philippines documents that tended to confirm the specific information provided by Jimenez. On Feb. 23, 2001, Coutts Bank of Hong Kong received a $2 million remittance from the Trade and Commerce Bank of the Cayman Islands for the account of Ernesto Escaler. A portion of the money, said to be Escaler’s commission, ended up in Manila. The rest was traced to Singapore and, after a series of suspected laundering transactions, to some banks on the Channel islands. The accounts were in the names of Perez, his wife and some John and Jane Does.

Since November 2004, the Ombudsman has been asking the Department of Justice to make a request with Hong Kong authorities for copies of records of the Coutts accounts. Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez has been sitting on the Ombudsman’s request.

So what’s the Gloria administration’s business in apparently shielding Perez?

There’s another $14 million in bribes from the same source allegedly coursed through Jimenez, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson. If $2 million was the price of a justice secretary, $14 million must have gone to somebody else with more clout.

Who? Let’s ask Jimenez when he arrives.

The Malaya Editorial is wrong about one thing though. It wasn't Lacson who made the claim about the $14 million bribe but Mark Jimenez himself.

Jimenez, in his privileged speech at the House last year, claimed actually releasing $14 million in kickbacks in exchange for the approval of the IMPSA power deal. The Manila lawmaker was later extradited to the United States to face charges of mail fraud and illegal campaign contribution.

The IMPSA contract was approved four days after President Arroyo assumed the presidency in January 2001.

Of the $14-million bribe, Jimenez claimed $2 million went to Perez, $1 million "for the boys" and $4 million to Malacañang "residents." The remaining $7 million remains unaccounted for.

Wonder who these "malacanang residents" are?

More here:

Jimenez in a privilege speech in December 2002 accused Perez of having extorted $2 million from him to exclude him as a co-accused in the plunder case against detained President Joseph Estrada.

The $2 million was later found to have been part of an alleged $14 million bribe for high ranking officials who had grabbed power from Estrada, in exchange for a sovereign guarantee. That guarantee was given on the second day of office of President Arroyo, or four days after the Edsa II coup d'etat.

The Impsa contract was turned down by then President Estrada on the ground of its being disadvantageous to the government.

UPDATE: More bad news for Jose Pidal sa pagbalik ni MJ

Hindi si dating Pangulong Joseph "Erap" Estrada ang "madadale" kapag tuluyang ipinatapon ng pamahalaang Amerika pabalik ng Pilipinas si dating Manila Cong. Mark Jimenez kundi ang tinaguriang "Jose Pidal" ng Malacañang.

Ayon kay Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, hindi pa man napag-uusapan ang pagpapabalik kay Jimenez, kinakabahan na ang kampo ni Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sa posibleng ikakanta ng dating kongresista kapag nakatuntong ng Pilipinas.

Hindi nagbigay ng kumpirmasyon si Osmeña kung sino sa "Arroyo brothers" na unang itinuturong nagmamay-ari ng Jose Pidal accounts na sina First Gentleman Mike Arroyo at Negros Cong. Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo ang madadale sa pagbabalik ni Jimenez.

"Ang report sa akin, ngayon pa lang daw, eh nangangatog na tuhod ni Jose Pidal at natatakot ang Malacañang sa pag-uwi ni Mark (Jimenez). Kumpleto kami ng detalye at records niyan," ani Osmeña.

Sa kabilang banda, hindi itinago ni Osmeña ang pangambang likidahin si Jimenez habang pabalik ng Pilipinas mula Amerika.

Ayon kay Osmeña, may isang stopover sa Korea ang sasakyang eroplano ni Jimenez mula Amerika para magpagasolina kung kaya’t hindi nito inaalis ang madugong senaryo kapag may nagkainteres sa buhay ng dating kongresista.