PCGG rejects Swiss lawyer’s claim to Marcos loot

It is but a dilatory tactic.

This is what the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has to say about the claim made by Swiss lawyer Patrick Foetish on the $683 million Swiss bank accounts of the Marcos family.

Foetish’s claim, the PCGG said, is only meant to delay the turnover of the funds to the Philippine government.

"It is a clear case of dilatory tactic(s)," PCGG commissioner William Dichoso said. "They just want to delay the execution of the Supreme Court’s judgment that is in favor of the government."

Foetish arrived in Manila to make a claim on the assets on behalf of his clients, the Maler, Arelma Inc. Aguamina, Avertina and Sandy Foundations. He was accompanied by Greggy Araneta, husband of Irene Marcos-Araneta, the late President Ferdinand Marcos’ youngest daughter.

The foundations were reportedly used by the Marcoses as dummies through which state funds were funneled into the Marcos family’s Swiss accounts.

Upon the petition of the PCGG, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that the money belonged to the Marcoses and that much of this wealth was of illegal provenance. The money was transferred into an escrow account in the Philippine National Bank (PNB).

The initial amount deposited in PNB was pegged at $356 million in 1987, but accumulated interest has raised that amount to $683 million.

On July 15, the Supreme Court ruled that the money belonged to the Philippine government coffers, citing former first lady Imelda Marcos’ statement before the Sandiganbayan on May 26, 1998 that she was the sole beneficiary of 90 percent of the funds.

The high tribunal also ruled that the lawful income of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos at the time amounted to only $304,372, way below the sum deposited in the Swiss accounts.

Imelda has already filed an appeal questioning the high court’s decision.

The Office of the Solicitor General countered this with a petition seeking the immediate execution of the Supreme Court judgment, citing public interest.

Foetish, however, claimed the Marcos family has nothing to do with the foundations and that the assets belong to his clients.

But Dichoso maintained that the case has long been settled and Foetish’s reaction is very delayed. If Foetish was really accompanied by Araneta when he arrived in the Philippines, Dichoso added, it only reinforces the Marcos family’s connections to the foundations Foetish represents.

"They should have done that earlier, not now," he said. "Why only now if they really think they have a case? Whatever his interpretation of the ruling, it is his own. It is irrelevant to the case... We are not bothered by him."

PCGG commissioner for legal affairs Victoria Avena said it is "too late" for Foetish to make a claim on the assets. "How can they intervene when (the legal proceedings) are all over? When the proceedings were ongoing for more than a decade, they did not intervene."

The funds are to be released from escrow soon. The Swiss Federal Office of Justice, in a media statement issued on Aug. 5 declared that the Philippine government may now dispose of the funds in view of the "satisfactory" ruling of the Supreme Court on July 15 declaring the money ill-gotten wealth amassed by the Marcoses and forfeiting it in favor of the Philippine government.

The PCGG has already communicated with PNB seeking the transfer of the funds in the name of the government.

However, PCGG commissioner Ruben Carranza said the commission prefers not to touch the money while awaiting the SC to declare its July 15 verdict final and executory.