MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Tuesday denied having a hand in an alleged proposal for a compromise deal with the Philippine government on his family's alleged ill-gotten wealth.
In a statement, Marcos said his “family has no knowledge or information on that apparent exchange and service of document between Attorney [Oliver] Lozano and the office of Secretary [Salvador] Panelo.”
He also noted that Lozano does not represent any member of the Marcos family or the estate of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
On Monday, Panelo confirmed that Lozano had submitted a document proposing the possible grant of immunity to the Marcoses to the Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel last June.
Lozano, a Marcos loyalist, also suggested the creation of a legal team to study the government’s compromise agreement with the Marcoses.
But Panelo said that Malacañang has not acted on the document.
“Our office as a matter of courtesy and policy acknowledges receipt of any letter coming from any citizen. No action has been taken on Attorney Lozano’s proposal,” he said.
Lozano, who ran and lost in the 2004 senatorial race under the Marcos-era Kilusang Bagong Lipunan party, has filed impeachment complaints against former presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III.
He also threatened Vice President Leni Robredo, Rep. Gary Alejano (Magdalo party-list) and former Commission on Elections chair Andres Bautista with impeachment raps.
READ: Palace denies reaching compromise deal with Marcoses
Wealth in the billions
The members of Marcos family have always maintained that they did not loot the country during their patriarch’s 21-year rule
But various courts in Switzerland, Singapore, United States and the Philippines have held that part of the Marcoses' wealth is ill-gotten.
Marcos’ successor, Corazon Aquino, formed the Presidential Commission on Good Government to recover ill-gotten wealth from the Marcoses and their cronies. The commission was able to recover P170.4 billion of ill-gotten wealth as of last year.
The possibility of returning a portion of the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth, including a “few gold bars” surfaced in August 2017 when President Rodrigo Duterte disclosed that the family has expressed willingness to return what they accumulated during the late dictator’s long rule.
He said the action of Congress is needed to begin the negotiations with the family of the former president.
NEWSLAB: Money Trail: The Marcos billions