PCGG recovers P60 billion in 21 years

In its 21 years of existence, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has recovered around P60 billion in "net cash recoveries" from the heirs and cronies of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, the agency said in its accomplishment report for 2006.

The PCGG’s research department said in its report that the agency directly remitted P57 billion of its net cash recoveries to "the Bureau of Treasury for the account of the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF) of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of the government."

Moreover, the PCGG also stands to recover P213 billion more in cash and assets based on the value of the funds and properties involved in more than 500 cases still pending before the Sandiganbayan and the Supreme Court.

The pending cases include about 24 civil suits against the various heirs of Marcos and many of his close associates, such as Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr., Geronimo Velasco, Lucio Tan, Bienvenido Tantoco, Rodolfo Cuenca and Benjamin Romualdez.

In its report, the PCGG pointed out that the P60 billion it has recovered since 1986 proves that the commission is an efficient and effective organization.

"PCGG has attained a cost to recovery ratio of 1:52, which means that for every P1 million budget, PCGG was able to recover P52 million worth of cash and properties, or a recovery rate of 5,200 percent," the report said. "The agency, therefore, is economical, efficient, and effective in its operations."

The PCGG was earlier criticized for its poor performance in recovering the so-called ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses and their associates.

PCGG officials, however, stressed that the agency can only do its best in following up the hundreds of cases pending before the court, but the speed by which these cases will be resolved rests solely on the judges hearing these cases.