Sandigan orders turnover of $42-M Marcos account

MANILA, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan has ordered the turnover to the government of the so-called Arelma account of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos amounting to $42 million.

In a two-page writ of execution issued on Aug. 18, the anti-graft court’s Special Division directed the transfer of the money from the Philippine National Bank to the Bureau of Treasury.

The funds represent the assets of the former president, originally amounting to $2 million, deposited with Merrill Lynch Securities in New York in 1972 in the name of Arelma Foundation.

The order was based on a Supreme Court (SC) ruling denying with finality the appeals filed by former first lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos and Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the anti-graft court rulings in April and August 2009.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government initiated forfeiture cases in 1991 docketed as Civil Case 0141.

The civil case recovered some $660 million from five Marcos Swiss Foundations in 2003, including the Arelma account.

Meanwhile, the full recovery of the so-called Malacañang jewelry collection of Mrs. Marcos, which was also covered by Civil Case 0141, remains pending. The Marcoses filed an appeal before the high tribunal.