PCGG studying Salonga proposal

The Presidential Commission on Good Government is studying three options, including a proposal by former PCGG chairman Jovito Salonga, to speed up the recovery of the $659.7 million in Marcos deposits held in escrow at the Philippine National Bank (PNB).

"We are still weighing the legal options because there are a number open to us," said PCGG Chairman Haydee Yorac.

She said the PCGG is studying whether to submit certain documents to the Sandiganbayan, elevate the matter to the Supreme Court or adopt Salonga’s proposal.

Salonga suggested freeing the money from escrow by invoking a provision of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.

He made the proposal after the Sandiganbayan’s first division, chaired by suspended Presiding Justice Francis Garchitorena, reversed a 1991 decision to forfeit the controversial deposits in favor of the Philippine government.

The anti-graft court justified the ruling by saying the PCGG failed to submit the authenticated translation of the Swiss court decision which declared the money belonged to the Marcoses and that much of it was ill-gotten.

"We are naturally outraged at the decision which is most unfair to the people of this country," Yorac said, deploring the long time it has taken to recover the Marcos ill-gotten wealth.

Yorac slammed the decision which took 16 months to make and was based on a matter that could have been simply settled at any time within the 11 years the case has been pending in the court.

"I am amazed that after 16 months of cogitation, they have suddenly discovered there was no authenticated translation," Yorac said.

She said the PCGG may seek reconsideration of the decision by simply submitting the authenticated translation or appealing to the Supreme Court or following Salonga’s proposal.

Under the Salonga proposal, the PCGG could gain control of the money by invoking the Second Additional Protocol that the Council of Europe drew up for the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.

Salonga said Article 12 of that protocol allows direct restitution of the ill-gotten wealth by the requested state (in this case, Switzerland) with a view to its return to its rightful owners (in this case, the Philippines).

The protocol can be included in the proposed bilateral treaty between Switzerland and the Philippines, paving the way for the recovery of the frozen funds.

Should the government opt to adopt his proposal, the government would no longer have to comply with certain conditions a Swiss court imposed when it transferred the Marcos money to the PNB in 1997.

Among these conditions are the criminal prosecution of the Marcos family, compensation of human rights victims during martial law and due process for the Marcos family.

Yorac said she would take up the PCGG’s options with Solicitor General Simeon Marcelo this week.

"By the end of the week, we would already have decided on which procedure will ensure the quickest way to recover the funds," she said.