PCGG urges dismissal of resolved Imelda cases

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) asked the Sandiganbayan yesterday to dismiss the forfeiture suit against the alleged ill-gotten assets of former first lady Imelda Marcos because the government has already earned P195.4 million from the sale of these properties.

PCGG Commissioner Ruben Carranza and legal counsels Vyva Victoria Aguirre and Manuel Parras told the Sandiganbayan’s third division that it is about time the anti-graft court declare the forfeiture case closed because the sale of Marcos’ properties in New York "has rendered this complaint moot and academic."

The PCGG said it no longer wants the Sandiganbayan to "further waste its time" on the case which should already be "dismissed" because the government’s objective of disposing of the questionable assets and remitting proceeds of the sale have been achieved.

This district court heard four suits, including two against the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and issued an order in December 1990.

In a five-page motion, the PCGG admitted having "received P195.4 million as its share in the proceeds of the disposition of the properties," which was later "remitted to the Bureau of Treasury (BOT)" to fund the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.

The five Marcos properties in New York the PCGG has disposed of are the Herald Center for $1.5 million; a building located on Wall Street, $189,149; the Crown Building, $3.2 million; a building on 200 Madison Avenue, $769,852; and Lindenmere Estate, $1.6 million.

According to the PCGG, all of these properties have a total value of $7.3 million. The remittances to the BOT started in April 1990 — when the peso-dollar exchange rate was P22 to $1 —- and ended in December 1997, when the peso depreciated to 35 against the dollar.

A certification issued by BOT fiscal controller Felina Pajayon and budget officer Juvy Marantan showed the breakdown of the proceeds from the sale of these properties: Herald Center, P34 million (remitted April 1990); the Madison Avenue building, P4.7 million (February 1993); the Wall Street building, P79.8 million (October 1992); Crown Building, P79.1 million (March 1993) and Lindenmere Estate, P57 million (December 1997).

The certification was noted by Nestor Palabrica, officer in charge of the finance and administrative department of the BOT.