Exorcism, insanity, kidnapping - family feud grips Philippines

At first glance, it is a corporate lawsuit over the ownership of a US$45 million telecommunications firm.

But on closer look, the saga surrounding the sale of the Philippine firm Meridian Telekoms descends into a melodrama complete with accusations of exorcism, insanity, kidnapping, forced detention and a spectacular family feud affecting 12 children, three mothers and two blue-chip corporations.

On Tuesday, former congressman Mark Jimenez filed a criminal suit before the Makati City prosecutor's office against his own children, Marcel, Virgilio and Myla, and the latter's husband, Generoso Villanueva. He claimed that in 2004, they 'illegally [and] surreptitiously ... without my knowledge or approval' sold Meridian for US$45 million to Smart Communications, a fully owned company of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), controlled by First Pacific of Hong Kong.

Mr Jimenez could not be reached for comment but his newly appointed lawyer, Frank Chavez, insisted in an interview: 'Mark Jimenez is the owner of all the stocks [but Meridian was sold] upon misrepresentation by the children that they have been authorised by Mark, who was at that time in prison in the United States.'

Mr Jimenez returned to Manila in 2005 after serving two years in jail for tax evasion and election fraud. He admitted paying US$41,500 in illegal election contributions to various politicians and funnelling US$5 million out of the US tax-free.

The son of a grocer, Mr Jimenez made his fortune selling computer monitors, floppy drives and printers in Latin America. He became a power broker during the presidency of Joseph Estrada, who praised him as 'a corporate genius'. Mr Jimenez is mulling filing a separate civil suit to void the Meridian sale.