MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Solicitor General Wednesday said it would not pursue the proposed settlement deal for martial law victims as it found that the agreement is disadvantageous to the Philippine government.
In a statement, the OSG said it “reviewed the terms of the proposed settlement agreement” and found that the terms were “grossly disadvantageous to the government.”
The provisions were also “not in accord with existing Philippine laws and jurisprudence,” the office added.
The statement, the OSG said, was in reaction to a STAR report that stated that it blocked the distribution of funds to martial law victims.
The report also quoted Reynold Munsayac, acting chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, who said that the Philippine government would instead pursue its claim to recovered Marcos properties in cases pending before the Sandiganbayan.
“To finally settle the issue, on March 11, 2019, a case conference was held attended by lawyers from [Department of Justice], PCGG and OSG,” the statement read.
The OSG said the three agencies were unanimous in saying that it would no longer enter the settlement agreement “in the best interest of the Republic.”
It added that the PCGG was tapped to inform the New York District Court through a letter dated March 16, 2019.
A follow-up report said that the settlement is final according to rights lawyer Robert Swift, as New York federal judge, the Office of the President and the PCGG have approved it.
Swift represents the camp of martial law victims.
The negotiations involved some $20 million worth of assets, including high-value paintings, seized from former Marcos’ aide Vilma Bautista in New York.
In the draft agreement, the government was set to receive $4 million while the victims in the class action would get $13.75 million.
A third party, the Golden Buddha Corp. and the estate of Roger Roxas that allegedly discovered the Yamashita treasure, would also get a portion of the proceeds from the sale of some of the paintings. — Kristine Joy Patag with reports from The STAR/Janvic Mateo