Last Tuesday, officials from the PCGG entered a house in San Juan belonging to the Marcos family. Behind the strength of a warrant issued by a special court, they seized several paintings which were allegedly bought with ill-gotten wealth amassed by then President Marcos in his twenty years in power. Eight paintings are currently being sought after by the PCGG, all made by masters such as Pablo Picasso, Michaelangelo and Paul Gauguin, some worth several million dollars each.
Several paintings were found in the house, but it is yet to be determined if any of the eight being sought after are among them. I immediately noticed two identical paintings of a Madonna and Child, raising suspicions that one or both may be fakes or copies of the original, as well as the other paintings found in the house. It is possible that the originals were stashed in different places all over the world, and the paintings in the house are meant to throw off authorities. Still, everything was confiscated.
Last year, the Philippine government enjoyed a significant legal victory with the conviction by a New York State Court of Vilma H. Bautista, the former social secretary of Imelda Marcos. She illegally sold a painting by Claude Monet for $32 million dollars. She was sentenced to two to six years in prison, but was appealed by her lawyer citing her failing health. The recovery of the Monet along with three other paintings is the subject of a civil case, the reason being cited is that these paintings were acquired with ill-gotten wealth, and was never part of the Marcos estate.
It has been twenty-eight years since the PCGG was created by President Corazon Aquino. The creation of the agency was her first official act as President of the Republic, tasked with going after the Marcos' ill-gotten wealth, which is said to be in the amount of ten billion dollars. Based on the PCGG website, around P166.2 billion pesos have been recovered from 1986-2013. I did notice on the pie chart posted on the PCGG website that P92.5 billion was recovered from 1986-2009, while P73.7 billion was recovered from 2010-2013. In only three years, the aforementioned amount was recovered under the Aquino administration, compared to the previous figure recovered in twenty-three years under the past four administrations.
Around thirty to fifty billion pesos worth of ill-gotten assets are currently under litigation. If ten billion dollars is what the PCGG has to recover, then it is still a far cry from success, having recovered approximately thirty percent of the total amount. The PCGG is not without its problems and controversies, even at one time being accused, ironically, of corruption. It continues to struggle to stay relevant in the search for the Marcos loot. It must be understood that it takes money to recover money, underlying the need for a substantial budget allocation for the agency. Still, we will take these victories as they come, and relish in the knowledge that the Marcoses, although still very much around, get to see their riches being taken away from them.
Slowly, but surely.