MANILA, Philippines — The Presidential Commission on Good Government on Friday belied former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s claim that it has been abolished.
The STAR quoted PCGG acting chairman Reynold Munsayac as saying: “As far as we know, the proposed bill that would abolish PCGG was only approved in the House of Representatives but not in the Senate.”
“Currently, PCGG is still existing and continuing to perform its mandates and functions,” Munsayac added.
RELATED: No pause on recovery of Marcos loot, closure for Martial Law victims — Palace
The PCGG chair was reacting to the claim made by Marcos, son of the late dictator, who said Friday that the agency created to recover ill-gotten wealth from the Marcoses and their cronies had already been abolished.
Marcos, who seemed exasperated by being asked about martial law, said that he understands the comment of his sister, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, that the country has to move on from the atrocities of the martial law.
“The frustration is that you have been asked this question over and over again. It has decided. The government fell. The cases against us were filed. The cases came to a decision,” the former senator said.
“What do we [as a nation] want to do about it now. PCGG has been banned...has been abolished,” he added.
House approves abolition of PCGG
On May 15, the House of Representatives voted 162-10 to approve the bill on strengthening the Office of the Solicitor General on third and final reading.
The bill, principally authored by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez (Davao del Norte), seeks to strengthen the OSG, currently led by Jose Calida.
The solicitor general is a known supporter of the Marcoses. Should the bill be passed into law, he will supervise the “consolidation” of the powers and functions of the PCGG and the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel into his office.
The Senate has yet to approve a counterpart bill, which is needed for a reconciled bill to be sent to the president for enactment.
The PCGG continues its legal battles to recover millions amassed by the Marcos family and their cronies.
READ: The proposed additional powers for the Office of the Solicitor General
Martial law victims are also fighting to receive their compensation for the human rights violations during the Marcos regime.
Marcos: Focus on other problems
Marcos also pointed out that the government has other problems to face. “Why should we waste out time on this? This has been finished,” he said in Filipino.
He cited in particular his electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo, the reason that he was speaking at a forum for media in Quezon City.
“I cannot move on from it because it has not been decided,” he said, adding that the case has been “intentionally delayed” by a “biased” justice.
Marcos has accused Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, reportedly the member-in-charge of his case, of being against him.
Caguioa has asked his the SC to re-raffle the case to another member, but the court denied the request.
Imee's 'millennials have moved on' claim
Talk of "moving on" from the more than 20 years of the Marcos presidency reached headlines this week after Gov. Marcos remarked during the anniversary of the assassination of Sen. Benigno Aquino III—among her father's most high-profile critics—on August 21 that people should look past the Marcos regime.
"The millennials have moved on and, I think, people at my age should move on as well," she said, using a term liberally used to refer to the youth.
Activist youth groups were quick to dispute her assertion, with national democrat Anakbayan saying: "Imee Marcos might fancy that her family commands the respect and adulation of those like us who have never seen the depravity and violence of martial law, but the Marcosian fancy of absolute control remains a dream of a detached life."
RELATED: Youth groups to Marcos: We have not moved on
"There is no moving on until justice has been served. There is also no moving on in that we will never forget the damage martial law has done," Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan meanwhile said. — with a report from Janvic Mateo