Government denies responsibility for collapse of Marcos settlement

Malacañang denied yesterday any responsibility for the collapse of a $150-million settlement awarded to victims of human rights abuses under the dictatorship of the late Ferdinand Marcos.

"I think blaming the government is unfair. We could not do anything," said Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora after a US district court judge Manuel Real threw out the settlement.

The initial suit against the Marcos estate was filed in Hawaii where he and his family lived in exile after the EDSA people power revolt in February 1986.

Initially, $2 billion was awarded but this was then scaled back to $150 million in an out-of-court-settlement between nearly 10,000 victims and the late dictator’s wife, Imelda.

However, Real canceled the settlement Tuesday following requests from the victims, saying the Philippine government could not be trusted to carry out its part of the deal. He faulted embattled President Estrada in part for the settlement’s collapse.

"President Estrada said he would settle this case two years ago and has failed to fulfill his commitment," Real said.

But Zamora said the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan had rejected the government use of seized Marcos funds held in escrow which would have been used to meet the payout.

"When we went to the Sandiganbayan, they rejected it. What could we do? We could not touch the money," he said.

Mr. Estrada argued that he did everything within legal means to speed up a settlement.

"It was a decision of the courts. I don’t know why I am being blamed for this," the President said.

The $150 million was to be partially met from some $630 million recovered from Marcos bank accounts in Switzerland. The Marcos bank deposits were transferred in 1998 to an escrow account in the partly government-owned Philippine National Bank.– Marichu Villanueva