Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos falsely claimed that reports about ill-gotten wealth and massive corruption during her father’s 20-year rule have not been proven in court.
After she filed her certificate of candidacy for senator in next year’s midterm election at the Commission on Elections head office on Oct. 15, Marcos was asked by a reporter about the corruption that took place when Ferdinand E. Marcos was president.
STATEMENT
The reporter asked Marcos:
“Given the history of your family, that your father is being alleged to have accumulated over $10 billion in ill-gotten wealth, (if you get elected) how can the public be assured that there is transparency, there is accountability and there would be no incidence of corruption?
She answered:
“As we all know, these are political accusations that have not been proven in court.”
Source: Inquirer.Net video posted Oct. 15, 2018 on YouTube, watch from 01:35 to 01:57
FACT
The ill-gotten wealth issue has been extensively documented by the Presidential Commission on Good Government, which was established soon after the EDSA 1986 People Power Revolution that overthrew Marcos.
In 2014, PCGG disclosed the recovery of a residual amount of $29 million, including interest, from part of Marcos Swiss Bank deposits in two West Landesbank accounts in Singapore that have been frozen since 2003, bringing the amount recovered from the Marcos Swiss accounts so far to $687 million.
Republic Act No. 10368, or the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013, provides that compensation for martial law era human rights victims was to be sourced from P10 billion Marcos ill-gotten wealth that was transferred to the Philippine government through the Dec. 10, 1997 ruling of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.
Sources:
Inquirer.net, Imee says HR abuses during father’s rule are just ‘political accusations’, Oct. 16, 2018.
Republic Act No. 10368 , Feb. 25, 2013.
Inquirer.net, PCGG recovers $29M from Marcos loot, Feb. 13, 2014.
Yahoo! Philippines, Philippines recovers $29M from Marcos accounts, Feb. 12, 2014.
The Guardian, Philippines seizes £17.6m from Marcos accounts, Feb. 12, 2014.
Philippine Commission on Good Government press release: “Traces of Marcos’ ill-gotten wealth abroad”, May 13, 2016.
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