Supporting the stand of the PCGG, the Palace said yesterday it is about time that a compromise agreement between the government and the Marcos family is reached to finally allow the people to directly benefit from the alleged ill-gotten wealth accumulated by the Marcoses during the 20-year dictatorship.
Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor said 20 years of court litigation has achieved little in recovering billions of pesos in alleged ill-gotten wealth. Meanwhile, the government continues to face the chronic problem of lack of funds for projects to benefit the people and boost economic development.
"Even those who are against the Marcoses, against any compromise agreement have not presented any viable alternative for recovering this money," Defensor said in a telephone interview. "After such a long time, I think the people should directly benefit from proceeds of any compromise agreement."
He said any money recovered as a result of a compromise agreement could be used to improve services in areas such as housing, education, food security and health care.
However, Defensor maintained the Palace has nothing to do with PCGG Chairman Camilo Sabio’s efforts to reach a settlement with the Marcoses.
"The PCGG is an independent constitutional body — independent of us — but I think the Palace also wants a speedy, fair and just resolution to efforts to recover (the ill-gotten Marcos wealth)," he said.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita also said Malacañang has no official policy yet on the PCGG’s move to enter into compromise agreements with the Marcos family.
"If the PCGG chairman says it is appropriate to enter into a compromise agreement (with the Marcoses), then okay," he said.
There are no exact figures as to how much Marcos and his cronies allegedly plundered from the country during his dictatorship, but, according to one PCGG estimate, the amount could be anywhere between $5 billion and $10 billion.
Former solicitor-general Frank Chavez earlier said Marcos and his family have $13.4 billion deposited in Swiss banks.
President Arroyo last year ordered the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to allocate P8 billion of the money recovered from the Marcos family to compensate victims of human rights violations during the Marcos regime.
The money was to come from a $684-million deposit of the Marcoses with a Swiss bank, which is now worth billions of pesos. Those funds have since been turned over to the Philippine government.
The President asked Congress to enact a law to officially allocate the amount as compensation for the human rights victims, since existing laws provide that money recovered from Marcos’ ill-gotten wealth must all go to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
Meanwhile, the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP) also expressed support for the PCGG’s move to enter into compromise agreements but said the Marcoses should also apologize for atrocities committed during the dictatorship.
Fr. Archie Intengan, one of PDSP’s founders and ideologues, said any compromise agreement should be fair and just and clearly benefit the people.
He said the proceeds should be "awarded to the people in the most expeditious manner without sacrificing principles."
"There can only be an amicable settlement if there would be an apology first from the Marcoses," Intengan said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Joker Arroyo warned the Palace anew against "condoning" moves by the PCGG for entering into a compromise deal with the Marcoses.
"Let us hope the PCGG will not be the cause of another executive-Senate spat," Arroyo said yesterday in reaction to reports that the President gave the PCGG a free hand in dealing with the allegedly ill-gotten Marcos wealth.
Arroyo said the PCGG, under Sabio’s leadership, will not get a single centavo from the 2006 budget, the approval of which is being pursued by the Senate.
"The Senate membership has arrived at a common consensus, without any objection from any member, to give the PCGG a zero budget, thereby effectively emasculating it," Arroyo said.
Arroyo, who served as executive secretary during the term of former President Corazon Aquino when the PCGG was formed, said the PCGG’s move to strike a compromise deal with the Marcoses is not within its mandate.
The PCGG’s mandate is that of a recovery agency and it does not make policy, Arroyo said, adding that the PCGG only implements the policies made for it.
"Thus, it should have the prudence not to make policy pronouncements because that is not within its competence," he said.
He said it is "outrageous" that Sabio has been "very vocal" about his so-called "two-pronged approached" for settling legal cases by striking a compromise deal with the Marcos family and pursuing with the litigation if a compromise is not reached.
"In the 20-year history of the PCGG, the present commission is the most talkative, giving advance billing for every move it intends to make, thus, it gets into trouble," Arroyo said.
He added that the PCGG’s chairman and its commissioners have also occupied top positions in sequestered companies — a violation of the Anti-Graft Law. — With Christina Mendez