Marcos assets
EFFORTS to mediate the return of the Marcos wealth must be welcomed under the Duterte watch, particularly since the gesture was initiated by the family and given the dismal record of previous attempts the past three decades. This is a second tender by the family, recollecting history. A positive development regardless of the stringent and militant shrill which, like a bull seeing red, gores forward when the Marcos name is subject of national discussion. Such voices are morally bankrupt, having accepted monetary consideration (human rights damages) in exchange for trumpeted principles struggled for and suffered during the regime.
Posterior amicable settlements are never a dirty word. It is a common strategy viewed from an over-arching picture to retrieve a modicum of justice and reparation, in the legal world. This is a new opening to what was a corrupted system of recovering lost fortunes under previous administrations with various PCGGs (Presidential Commission on Good Government) which cannot come to court with clean hands.
The country, in particular the Filipino people, lost a great opportunity to find recompense and closure since 1986. A week into the Cory administration, my father, former Senator Rene Espina, secretarygeneral of Unido, sounded the alarm on the loss of the Imelda jewelry involving “yellow ladies” in Malacanang. Paintings, sofas and chandeliers did not escape the depravity of the moment. Callous negotiations by Palace relatives flying to Hawaii were persistent on dis-allowing Ferdinand Marcos to voluntarily give back 90% of his affluence to the country under certain conditions, e.g., his family returning to the Philippines, dropping of cases, etc. They were insistent on renegotiating terms which would allow “jaundiced relatives” percentages in the assets. To date, official efforts at discovering more hidden wealth abroad have barely scratched the surface. The bulk is concealed under corporate layers and unidentified bank/ gold accounts. The incompetence and malfeasance of previous governments, is staring us in the face.
President Duterte is in the best position to pursue the break in the unmoving financial sphynx. As the saying goes, “Better 50 percent of something, than 100 per cent of nothing.” Redeemed art works or jewelry should form part of the national heritage and be on display in a museum. Monies and gold should be placed in time deposit abroad at preferential rates by the National Treasury for future generations, so they will not be conveniently auctioned or politically dissipated.