Sandigan ruling is proof of Marcos abuses – lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines - Last week’s Sandiganbayan ruling ordering an alleged Marcos crony to surrender P511 million worth of assets to the government is proof of the Marcos regime’s abuses, a party-list congressman said yesterday.

Rep. Antonio Tinio of Alliance of Concerned Teachers said if vice presidential aspirant Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is looking for evidence of the excesses of the Marcos era, he should read the anti-graft court’s decision in the case of Alfonso Lim Sr. and his son Alfonso Jr.

He said there is no better and clearer proof of the Marcos administration’s abuse than the ruling of the Sandiganbayan.

“Senator Marcos should now acknowledge the sins and abuses, the human rights violations, and plunder committed during the time of his father and offer an apology, especially now that he is running for vice president,” he said.

The Sandiganbayan ordered the family of Lim to turn over to the government assets worth P511 million, which the court said were acquired through proceeds from the logging concession the Marcos regime gave Lim Sr.

The concession covered more than 500,000 hectares of forestland, five times the constitutional limit of 100,000 hectares.

The anti-graft court said the government “has sufficiently proven that defendant Alfonso Lim Sr. had indeed acquired timber license agreements far in excess of that allowed by the 1973 Constitution.”

 The tribunal handed down the ruling 24 years after the Presidential Commission on Good Government filed the case against the Lims.

Among the properties the Lims were ordered to surrender to the government are valuable pieces of real estate in Tagaytay City, Rizal, Cagayan and Batangas.

Malacañang has hailed the ruling, saying it was a victory for the Filipino people’s efforts to recover assets allegedly amassed by the Marcoses and their cronies during the Marcos administration.

 Tinio also urged the government to continue searching for and seizing wealth linked to the Marcoses.

He said the Guinness Book of World Records once estimated that the Marcos family had $9 billion in cash, real estate, jewelry and other assets.

Marcos Jr. has consistently refused to say sorry for the alleged abuses of his family, claiming he could not recall any act of abuse they had committed.

His presidential candidate, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, has told Marcos critics not to blame the young Marcos for the Marcos era’s excesses.