Regarding Mark Jimenez
The view from Mark Jimenez’s penthouse is one of a kind: neat rows of the white crosses in the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Bonifacio Global City. Inside, crystal vases with fresh flowers are everywhere. There is an old Austrian piano that nobody knows how to play in the living room. There are photos of his family.
The No. 1 rule in Jimenez’s household is that no shoes are allowed. Visitors leave their shoes in a closet near the elevator. Thus, Jimenez returns home from a legal appointment dressed in a barong Tagalog and socks. He quickly changes into his house wear, a kamiso chino or sleeved vest and loose pants.
Up close, Jimenez is charming and occasionally combative and condescending. The interview lasted more than an hour.
Prisoners' Adoration Chapel reflects MJ's faith in God & the goodness of human heart
The summer heat baked the backs of prisoners volunteering their services for the work, assembling hollow blocks mixing cement, and doing the carpentry. But they ignored the searing heat of the summer sun. From their callous hands, the Adoration Chapel of the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) rose from the ground.
Just like the rock solid faith of their benefactor, the legendary Mark “MJ” Jimenez, the house of worship serves as a shining example of the indomitable spirit of the people who dream of it and fought all odds to make it a reality.
The New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa was established in 1936, the “newer” version of the old facilities in Manila created under a Spanish royal decree in 1865. It was transferred to its present site outside Manila to address the problem of congestion.
Originally, the national prison facility in Muntinlupa had a land area of 551 hectares, but 104 hectares were given to the Department of Justice for a housing project. At present, the NBP has more than 16,750 prisoners for a facility built for only 8,700.
These people are regarded by Mark “MJ” Jimenez as his friends. For he believes that even in the smallest corner of a criminal's heart, humanity and God reside. No matter how these incarcerated people are treated by society as expendable, MJ embraces them with open arms, believing they have the capacity to change for the better. In the Allenwood Correctional Facility in the U.S., in Cebu City jail, and in many jails he visited, MJ's generosity and kindness to prisoners are already the stuff of legends.
MJ shows solidarity with the people in biggest mass baptism in RP history
Businessman-philanthropist Mark Jimenez once again showed his solidarity with neglected and abused Filipino families at the biggest ever Binyagan sa Barangay held today, August 21, at the Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila.
Jimenez’s youngest child, Angelina Juliana Crespo, eight-month old, was baptized today at the historic Manila Cathedral, together with some 5,000 children from families living at the Baseco Compound, Parola, and Moriones in Tondo, also from Leveriza, Pandacan, and other areas in Manila where many impoverished families live. Due to the large number of children to be baptized, the baptism had to be done in batches and the ceremony of the event took almost the whole day at the two cathedrals.
This particular “Binyagan Bayan” organized by the Hulog ng Langit Foundation could be the biggest mass baptism held in the Philippines, if not the whole world. By having his child join the mass baptism, Jimenez symbolically bridged the yawning gap between the rich and the poor in this country. He celebrated the occasion with some 15,000 people composed of relatives and friends of the baptized children. Entertainment during the festive reception was provided by a choir and by Jollibee mascots.
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