WHAT HE WAS good in networking had been established in his early years as an entrepreneur in Manila. But Jimenez apparently honed his talents in developing connections all the more in the United States and Latin America, where he has claimed to have had tete-a-tetes with national leaders, including U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Jimenez has said that he had been part of a small group of Clinton believers at a time when many were not giving the young Arkansas governor much chance to clinch the presidency. And while Florida court records say his contributions to the 1995 Clinton/Gore campaign was only $25,000, the Associated Press has cited U.S. Secret Service records showing that Jimenez was invited to the White House 12 times between 1994 and 1996. Photos made available to the press by Jimenez are also usually the ones showing him dining with Bill and Hillary.

Aside from the Clintons, Jimenez has claimed to be a friend to 17 Latin American heads of state. News reports have even said Jimenez urged Clinton to help Paraguay President Juan Carlos Wasmosy when a coup d’etat was launched against the latter in 1997. That was the same year Jimenez came to Manila for a two-week visit. It was the beginning of the presidential campaign for the 1998 polls, and he apparently thought former Defense Secretary Renato de Villa would make a good chief executive. A member of the de Villa campaign has confirmed receiving financial contributions from Jimenez.

Jimenez returned to Manila the day before the May 11, 1998 elections. He told a local daily that he had intended to take just a short vacation, but decided to stay on when he met and became friends with President Estrada. This differed greatly with what U.S. Assistant Attorney General James K. Robinson told ex-Philippine Ambassador to the United States Raul Rabe. According to Robinson, Jimenez had fled the United States to avoid arrest. Estrada, for his part, has confirmed that he did meet Jimenez, through businessman Manny Zamora (brother of Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora), for the first time after the 1998 elections. The President made the declaration to belie reports that Jimenez had contributed to his campaign and that this had much to do with the friendship that subsequently developed between them. Jimenez attributes his rapport with Estrada to his being “a straight shooter.” Malacañang insiders also say that, among other things, Jimenez has mastered the tricks of humoring an ill-tempered president who bawls out even members of his Cabinet. Says an insider of Jimenez: “Paluhod-luhod pa ‘yan (He kneels, even).” Newspaper reports say the President enjoys Jimenez’s company because “he makes him laugh.” The President has also commented that like his bosom friend and fellow action film star Fernando Poe, Jr., Jimenez asks for nothing. But Jimenez himself dismisses as “garbage” a rumor going around that when he got his P50 million commission from the PLDT-First Pacific merger, he offered the whole amount to the President. According to the story, Estrada returned the money to him, saying he was entitled to it. Jimenez supposedly refused, saying he “did it for the country.” But he was allegedly prevailed upon to accept P50 million, which he then used to buy a house in an upscale subdivision for one of the President’s special women friends. What can be confirmed is that Jimenez does have a philanthropic side, which is one advantage he has over other Palace bureaucrats. A relative of the late Santiago Y. Toledo recalled that when the National Bureau of Investigation chief died, Jimenez took care of the funeral arrangements taking a big load off from the bereaved family. A Palace insider also says it is easy to be impressed with Jimenez because he talks with authority and details. “Maraming kuwento (He has many stories),” says the insider, although he says that anyone meeting Jimenez often enough will realize that the businessman tells the same stories over and over again. The official adds that Jimenez is good at power projection, and makes full use of the little information he has, conveying it to an interested party in a way that he appears to have unusual access. But the Palace insider huffs, “It’s mostly projection, more than anything else.” One of those who seem to have been taken with Jimenez, however, is the President himself. “Mark Jimenez is a serious guy who wants to help out country and our economic recovery,” the President said in an April broadcast of his radio program “Jeep ni Erap.” “He is, I would say, a corporate genius.” The President has also expressed admiration of Jimenez’s achievements in the United States. “Naging matagumpay sa Amerika as a businessman kaya nakinig naman ako sa kanya at maganda ang mga ibinigay na advice sa akin ( He became successful in America as a businessman, that’s why I listened to him and he gave me good advice).”

WHAT U.S. OFFICIALS have said about Jimenez, however, have been less flattering. This is what is contained in the U.S. State Department’s extradition request, which arrived at the Department of Foreign Affairs last June 17 with a boxful of supporting evidence:

“FTI, in which Jimenez was majority owner and chief executive officer, had a contract with Quantum Corporation that called for the latter to reimburse the former for expenses FTI incurred in advertising Quantum products. But Jimenez and other FTI officials allegedly created false advertising expenses, using the Jimenez-controlled Kalisol firm in Uruguay. These fake expenses were then submitted to Quantum. In so doing, Jimenez and company defrauded Quantum out of about $600,000.

“During 1995 and 1996, Jimenez caused FTI to transfer over $5,000,000 of its money out of the United States for himself. The amount was falsely reflected in FTI’s tax returns as advertising expenses. Jimenez also did not report the money as income on his own personal returns thus, evading taxes of approximately $3.5 million.

“Then, starting in 1994, Jimenez contributed almost $40,000 to the campaigns of President Clinton, Vice-President Al Gore and five Democrat senators, namely Edward M. Kennedy, Thomas Strickland, Ann Henry, Roger Bedford, and Robert Torricelli. To evade the limits for campaign contribution, Jimenez got “straw donors” and later reimbursed them, first through the FTI payroll, and then in cash obtained through his own personal checking account. Jimenez thus caused the treasurer for each of the involved candidate’s campaigns to file false reports with the Federal Election Commission.”

The maximum sentence for each of the first four charges is five years imprisonment, three years supervised release, a $250,000- fine and $100 mandatory special assessment. The charge on illegal campaign contributions will earn for Jimenez, if convicted, a year’s stay in prison.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Franklin Ebdalin says “the request has a strong basis.” But another foreign affairs official, who says he has talked with someone from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, refutes this. “The charges are not really that serious,” he says. According to the official, the U.S. government wants Jimenez for another purpose and the Florida court indictment is only a way to have him under their custody.

The official says U.S. authorities are really after illegal drug operators in Latin America and believe Jimenez has a lot to tell them. “They are not saying that he engaged in illegal drug trafficking,” he says. “But he may have dealt with some of those active in the illicit trade. They think he knows a lot about it.” The official says the charges could be dropped if Jimenez agrees “to sing the ballad of the drug lords in Latin America.”

The mention of this topic was one of the few times that Jimenez reacted strongly during his two encounters with i. At the time, he was in bed, with a tube up a nostril. The tube was connected to an oxygen tank. (His wife said it was “his heart” that was the problem, although Jimenez would later feast on Spanish sausages with a side of Caesar’s salad.) When the illegal drugs question came, Jimenez became livid. “Lies,” he hissed. Then he yanked the tube out of his nostril, got out of bed and went to the toilet.

When he returned, he launched into a speech, saying the U.S. request renders hollow the principles the United States stands for. He also said it smacked of discrimination, without really explaining how. He merely cited a paragraph that says, “The United States Government recognizes that this is a case of national interest in the Republic of the Philippines, and that Mark B. Jimenez is a powerful man. It is precisely because of these factors that the treaty should be followed and that the rule of law should prevail.”

“It’s politically motivated,” said the angry Jimenez. “It’s political harassment.” But he did try to make light of the possibility that he would be turned over to U.S. authorities. “Good,” he said. “‘Di magkikita kami ulit ni Bill (Clinton). Okay lang (So Bill and I will meet again. That’s okay).”