Gov't moves to get $630 M held at PNB

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) urged the country's anti-graft court yesterday to dismiss the Marcoses' claims on $630 million held in escrow at the Philippine National Bank (PNB).

In a 31-page motion, the PCGG asked the Sandiganbayan to issue a summary ruling giving the government the sole right over the money.

The money, which is believed to be part of the Marcoses' alleged ill-gotten wealth, was transferred last year to the country from Switzerland. Part of it has been invested by PNB in foreign banks.

The PNB is a private bank partly owned by the government.

Solicitor General Ricardo Galvez said the heirs of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos had failed to present a valid claim on the money which the Swiss Supreme Court said should be held in escrow until Philippine courts have decided on the claims of various parties.

The government, the Marcos family and some 10,000 victims of human rights violations under the 20-year Marcos regime have standing claims on the dictator's estate.

Galvez said members of the Marcos family had acknowledged the existence of the money, but failed to explain how they were able to amass such wealth. The Marcoses, he said, only issued a general statement denying that the money was ill-gotten.

"The existence and nature of the deposit are not denied by the Marcoses. What they deny is the charge that they clandestinely stashed the country's wealth in Switzerland and hid them under layers and layers of foundation and corporate entities," Galvez explained.

The PCGG said the Marcoses had admitted earning from 1966 to 1985 a total P2,288,759 or $287,714 using the peso-dollar exchange rate at the time.

And it said this would sufficiently prove that the money which the dictator deposited in Swiss accounts was stolen from government coffers.

"It was clearly shown in their admissions that the Marcoses' legitimate income was grossly disproportionate to their admitted assets," the commission said.

In calling for a summary ruling, Galvez presented to the Sandiganbayan a copy of a compromise proposal submitted by Marcos' children, offering 75 percent of the disputed money to the government while retaining the 25 percent.

He said the proposal alone proved the absence of any valid claim by the Marcoses over the money.

"The absence of any valid claim itself would warrant a decision in favor of the government," he said.