In a recent interview, PCGG Commissioner Ricardo Abcede said it doesn’t matter who makes the first move. The important thing is that both parties are willing to sit down and talk.
"I will call them up. I will call the chief of staff or lawyer of Mrs. Marcos, so we can sit down and talk," Abcede said. "I am willing to get the ball rolling because this will be all on general topics."
Abcede admits that in a compromise deal, there is a possibility that charges against Mrs. Marcos would have to be dropped before the disputed assets were turned over to the government.
He stressed though that "all of the assets" should be disclosed, and not only those that have already been identified by the government.
The government has no estimate, however, of the total amount of assets it is seeking to recover from the Marcoses.
Abcede believes that the compromise deal would be beneficial to both the government and Mrs. Marcos.
"Both will need it (the compromise deal). In the case of Mrs. Marcos, she would want to leave a good name in history by settling all these Marcos cases. The government needs this for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which should benefit most poor farmers. I see no harm with that," he explained.
Mrs. Marcos, through her legal counsel, had issued a statement of support for Abcede’s proposal for a compromise deal on all the cases.
There are 578 civil cases pending before the anti-graft court against Mrs. Marcos either as the main defendant or the co-accused.
PCGG Commissioner Nicasio Conti estimated the cases involved would amount to some P220 billion.
Mrs. Marcos’ legal counsel, lawyer Robert Sison, said the former First Lady is open to a compromise deal, not only for the disputed Marcos jewelry, but also for the entire assets and properties of the family.
Sison agrees with Abcede that a compromise settlement would be a pragmatic approach to end the almost two decades of litigation.
Sison’s statement came after PCGG declared that the disputed jewelry collection could be the start of talks for the recovery of the Marcos wealth.
He said the settlement should cover all assets not only in the Philippines but in the United States and Europe as well.
Sison also said Marcos is hopeful that a settlement involving the surrender of the assets in exchange for the dropping of all civil cases could be reached between the government and their party. — Sandy Araneta