Civic groups blasted the recent decision of the Sandiganbayan Special Division to dismiss the remaining cases on the retrieval of properties from the family of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

A party-list representative also questioned the Presidential Commission on Good Government’s (PCGG) failure to present sufficient evidence on the Marcos family’s alleged ill-gotten wealth.

In a statement, Akbayan Partylist Rep. Dadah Kiram Ismula stressed that the PCGG’s primary mandate was to ensure that any pilfered public funds were recovered.

The PCGG was established days after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution under an executive order issued by then President Corazon Aquino primarily to recover any and all assets accumulated by former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. during his more than 20 years in power.

Since then, the PCGG has reportedly recovered more than P170 billion from the estimated trillions that were taken.

In the most recent case before the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court, the PCGG filed a petition to secure the forfeited Marcos family properties that were not covered by previous pending cases.

Based on the resolution dated 2 June, the total amount already recovered through partial judgments on forfeitures was approximately $678 million, with cases dating from 2003 to 2019.

The latest case was subsequently dismissed, however, after the PCGG stated that it would no longer present evidence regarding the remaining properties not listed since other assets had been recovered through civil suits.

Ismula said the failure to push the case forward was unwarranted, as not all the ill-gotten wealth was successfully tracked and returned to the public.

Questions to confront

“We ask the PCGG: why were the remaining claims not pushed? What is the status of the remaining evidence and has the PCGG done everything to pursue the Marcoses’ remaining ill-gotten wealth?” she said.

“If the PCGG fails in its mandate, it only hands its detractors the ammunition to abolish it, which would be a grave injustice to the victims of martial law,” she added.

The lawmaker stressed the commission should not be influenced by the current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as even the executive branch has the legal responsibility to reclaim every amount stolen.

She also said the Sandiganbayan’s decision to ultimately dismiss the case did not in any way erase the fact that the Marcoses had amassed billions, if not trillions, of pesos through unlawful means.

“The Marcoses have plundered the nation’s coffers, got wealthy from ill-gotten wealth, and these were recovered by the people through various cases,” she said.

Kris Lacaba, spokesperson for the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (Carmma), said the dismissal was the end goal in securing the presidency and shielding the Marcos family’s questionable wealth.

Over the years, Civil Case 0141 has received four partial judgments ordering the forfeiture of nearly $680 million (approximately P41 billion today) in money and assets, as affirmed by various Supreme Court decisions from 2003 to 2019.

The sequestration orders cover the Marcoses’ Swiss deposits, Arelma accounts, Malacañang Jewelry Collection, and proceeds from $17 million in painting and artwork sales.