PCGG to initiate probe on Imee’s claim vs GMA-7

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) will look into the claims of former Ilocos Norte representative Imee Marcos over more than 28 percent share in GMA Network Inc.

“The PCGG is mandated to recover ill-gotten wealth, and any unexplained wealth of the Marcoses will be subject to legal action,” PCGG commissioner Nicasio Conti told reporters at the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo hotel forum in Quezon City.

Ms. Marcos said on Friday that the shares belong to her family and that they were entrusted only by her father the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos in 1983 to Gilberto Duavit Sr., father of GMA-7 chief operating officer Gilberto Jr. Ms. Marcos had tried to stop the broadcast giant from holding an initial public offering.

Conti said that PCGG reviewed all the cases against the Marcoses after Imee made public her claim.

“In our review we do not find any record related to the Duavit shareholding in the GMA-7, but we will pursue our investigation related to this case,” he said.

Conti also belied accusations that they have already made a deal with the Marcoses for the recovery of assets from known Marcos cronies including Philippine Airlines owner Lucio Tan.

“There is no deal, any existing alliance or compromise deal with the Marcos family. If the Marcos family will be able to convince the court that they have interest in Lucio Tan companies PCGG will definitely ask the court to forfeit them in favor of the Republic,” he said.

The PCGG commissioner said the same principle will apply to the claims of the Marcoses over some shares in GMA.

A source close to the Marcoses said that documents showed that the elder Duavit regularly reported to the deposed president on the status of the stocks, which originally belonged to an American businessman. “Imee has bulk of documents to prove her claim,” the source said.

“If it’s true that the shares are ill-gotten then it must go to the people not to a single person,” the source said quoting Imee.