Buried Treasure

One country’s trash is still another man’s treasure.

            The 102-billion forfeiture case filed 32 years ago against the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family was dismissed by the Sandiganbayan’s Second Division, August 8. Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), agency in charge of recovering the said undeclared riches for the complainant failed to prove its allegations that officials of the Development Bank of the Philippines, acting on Marcos’ orders, extended loans to various shipping companies owned by the late President’s cronies.

It has been more than 30 years before this case was submitted for a decision and yet there were still insufficient evidence to sustain the causes of the actions. Even for someone my age, it is somewhat obvious as to why this case took three decades to even reach the anti-graft courts Second Division.

Is it really the insufficiency of evidence that pushed for the dismissal of this case? Or is it the sheer incompetence of the appointed agency, PCGG, to do its duty to recover the said assets?

The former first lady claims that the late dictator need not to steal for he was rich long before he was President through his law practice and gold trading. However, what’s ironic is that the proof for an estimate of the former president’s wealth remains a wild goose chase with little to none documentation. This, to be expected, is also what happened during his regime with his sudden amassed wealth. Indeed, the entire family knows a thing or two on how to spun few truths into a web of lies.

Earlier this year, the distribution of the 13.75 million dollars settlement proceeds to victims of Martial Law coming from the Marcos’ wealth remained in court ruling despite the constant efforts to block the deal from the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

 It appears that instead of favoring the case of those impoverished, our own government was opposed to this and that is why the appeals were pursued in foreign courts. It cannot be denied that a conflict of interest is present in all of these. Apparently, our own government is a larger obstacle in recovering the said wealth.

On the other hand, many reinforcements were presented before but just like this, they were all junked for they were not ‘enough’. If it is such a dead-end, why do we still need to push this? If it is such a hopeless case, why are we still fighting for mere riches from a dictator?

The Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth was for the Filipino people. We are exhausted from political stunts every once and awhile—making it appear that we owe it to them. It should not be on the people’s shoulders to be indebted to such solons because they are doing their job. You don’t applaud a fish for swimming. The fact that they use politics to further their popularity is enough to prove that it is not for the sake of fulfilling their promises; it is solely for self-gratification. Seeking publicity is far from genuinely doing your duty as elected leaders.

Politics indeed marred the integrity of our own justice system. It seems like we forgot how the Supreme Court (SC), and even courts outside the country had found proof of the Marcoses’ corruption, with money amounting to mountains of money. Furthermore, it is funny how long it takes to proceed with this case and how an alleged lawsuit against politicians would reach trial immediately.

Dismissing the case is not far from denying the victims of the Martial Law of their justice they deserve. If this case were to be pushed through, a compensation for the Martial Law casualties would be continued in pursuant to the RA No. 10368 is “an act providing for reparation and recognition of victims of human rights violations during the Marcos regime, documentation of said violations, appropriating funds therefor and for other purposes.”

The quest for the Marcos hidden wealth and compensation for victims is not just for the money, we were only after what is rightfully ours. We should never let this case reach another dead-end. Marcos might be dead but his misdeeds still affects us and this is why people seek justice. The victims of his dictatorship cannot even sleep at night while he rests peacefully on his grave.

Our country’s treasure should never rest on the hands of a single man.