PCGG executive sees closure on Marcos wealth issue

MANILA, Philippines - President-elect Sen. Benigno Aquino III’s announced reconciliation with the Marcos family may end 24 years of the government’s quest for billions of pesos in Marcos ill-gotten wealth, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters, PCGG Commissioner Ricardo Abcede said he foresees a compromise agreement for the recovery of the Marcos wealth.

“We cannot run after the Marcoses forever,” he said.

Abcede said the PCGG has yet to recover the billions of pesos of Marcos wealth worldwide.

The Marcos wealth in the Philippines is estimated to be $140 billion, and at least another $50 billion in other counties, he added.

Abcede said the PCGG has uncovered unlisted Marcos assets in Europe, which included a castle and billions of dollars in cash deposits.

Marcos assets and cash deposits remain out of reach of the government, he added.

Abcede said going after the Marcos wealth is a very difficult job because the late president had put up a complicated security layer, which included naming trustees and other obstacles to ward off any attempt to sequester the assets.

Mrs. Marcos has allegedly confided to him that the Marcos wealth included a trillion-dollar deposit in a bank in New York, he added.

The Marcos family might agree to put the money in a foundation that will address poverty in the country, Abcede said.