The Hunt Continues: The PCGG and the Marcoses’ Ill-Gotten Wealth

When Ferdinand Marcos and his family fled the country on the evening of February 25, 1986, they left with around 300 crates of belongings aboard an Air Force C-141 cargo jet. In a rush, they would leave behind a number of documents, among them a contract with the Swiss bank Credit Suisse, signed with fake names, “William Saunders” and “Jane Ryan” among the first. Deposits to the bank account of Saunders and Ryan started as early as 1968, four years before the declaration of Martial Law. It would later be discovered that the Marcoses held more accounts in other Swiss banks under other aliases and even the names of foundations with unknown beneficiaries.

Said to amount to $5 to 10 billion, the Marcoses’ Swiss assets constitute merely a part of the family’s accumulated wealth throughout their years of rule. They also held accounts in Security Bank and Trust Company (SBTC), depositing funds acquired from shares in corporations like the Philippine Communications Satellite Corporation (Philcomsat), Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), and Oriental Petroleum, among others.

For over 30 years, and now under its sixth president since 1986, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has been retrieving this wealth for the Philippine treasury, through which it will be allocated to the national budget. Recovered jewelry, paintings, buildings, and other luxury items are typically auctioned by the PCGG through auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s, both based in the UK. So far, the PCGG has recovered Php170.45 billion in ill-gotten wealth. To scale, such amount could fund the building of almost 70,000 public classrooms.

Here is a timeline showing some of the efforts made by the Philippine government through the PCGG, as well as measures taken by other groups, to recover Marcos wealth. Many of the difficulties in this endeavor have stemmed from legal issues, compromise with cronies, and the individual claims of human rights victims during the regime.

QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS:

1. Why has it been difficult to recover the Marcos wealth? List 2 reasons presented in the timeline.
2. Who are involved in the efforts to recover the wealth?
3. Why do you think it is important to recover the Marcos wealth? What does it mean for the country? What does it mean for the victims?

REFERENCES

1. Bonalos, P. (2016, March 1). Exhibit on Marcos’ ill-gotten wealth. CNN Philippines. Retrieved from http://cnnphilippines.com/incoming/2016/03/01/Exhibit-on-Marcos-ill-gotten-wealth.html.
2. Bueza, M. (2014, June 21). Plunder in the Philippines. Rappler. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/60139-plunder-philippines-history.
3. Bueza, M. (2016, February 28). At 30: PCGG by the numbers. Rappler. Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/123857-pcgg-numbers-30-anniversary.
4. Lustre, P. (2016, February 25). Ferdinand Marcos: His last day at the palace. CNN Philippines. Retrieved from http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2015/02/25/Ferdinand-Marcos-Malaca%C3%B1an-last-day.html.
5. McManus, D. (1986, March 4). US seizes funds, gold of Marcos: Alleged holdings in NY also frozen after Manila suit. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/1986-03-04/news/mn-14979_1_ferdinand-marcos
6. Mydans, S. (2011, March 1). First payments are made to victims of Marcos rule. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/world/asia/02philippines.html.
7. Nicholls, A. (2015, November 24). PCGG holds appraisal of Marcos jewelry. CNN Philippines. Retrieved from http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2015/11/24/marcos-jewelry-appraisal-pcgg-Roumeliotes-collection.html.
8. Olson, E. (1998, October 23). Ferdinand Marcos’s Swiss Bank legacy: Tigher rules for despots and criminals. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/23/world/ferdinand-marcos-s-swiss-bank-legacy-tighter-rules-for-despots-and-criminals.html
9. Presidential Commission on Good Government. Retrieved from http://pcgg.gov.ph.