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Irene Marcos formally demands return of Canlubang Mansion


MANILA, Philippines - Irene Marcos-Araneta, youngest of the three children of the late strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos and Former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, has asked the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division to order the government to move out of the so-called Canlubang Mansion in Laguna, which is currently under the administration of the Department of Tourism. In a six-page pleading filed January 22, Araneta pointed out that the court has yet to resolve the 1995 Omnibus Motion of her brother, Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., which sought formal return of the mansion to their family. The youngest Marcos daughter pointed out that she, her sister Imee R. Marcos and Bongbong, are the registered owners of the property covered by TCT No. T-85026. The Canlubang Mansion was among several other Marcos rest houses turned over by the Aquino administration under the care of the DOT in 1988 for “administration and maintenance." While the house and the land it is standing on were seized by the government supposedly as part of the Marcos asset it is claiming in Civil Case No. 0002, it was never formally covered by any sequestration order – a fact that was admitted by Presidential Commission on Good Government chairman Camilo Sabio in 2007. Ten years ago, government lawyers tried to remedy the situation by filing a “Fourth Amended Complaint" for Civil Case no. 0002 solely for including the Canlubang Mansion in the list of properties being claimed by the PCGG. But in a resolution dated September 2, 1998 the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division denied the government motion. Curiously, the PCGG did not even file an appeal and simply allowed the ruling to become final. To further bolster their claim, Araneta submitted a copy of an August 17, 1999 certification from then Sandiganbayan Executive Clerk of Court IV Emma Rosario A. Lorbes confirming that the mansion was not in the list of assets sequestered nor in the list pieces of property covered by any free order from the graft court. “Almost 12 years have passed but the Omnibus Motion remains unresolved…(d)efendant Marcos-Araneta understands that this Honorable Court is …burdened with cases of equal important. She wishes, however, that this Court consider the importance of the immediate resolution of the Omnibus Motion to her and her co-owners, particularly that of having their property rights protected against unjustified interference and intrusion," she said. - GMANews.TV
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