Imelda Marcos’ conviction ‘a faithful reminder’ of a nation’s wealth plundered

The guilty verdict handed by the anti-graft court against former First Lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos reflects on what happened to the country during the Marcos regime, senator said on Friday.

The senators are weighing in on the significance of Mrs. Marcos’ conviction by the Snadiganbayan. 

The decision is a reminder of what happened during the Marcos regime, said Senator Francis Pangilinan.

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division found Mrs. Marcos guilty beyond reasonable doubt of graft, “or exploiting her position to steal the people’s money and betraying their trust.”

“The Sandiganbayan conviction is a faithful reminder that the Marcoses have plundered the nation’s wealth and have stolen from the people, no matter how much efforts to revise history are done by the Marcos family and their cohorts,” Pangilinan said in a statement.

Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV noted that the anti-graft court’s decision is proof that the Marcoses abused their power.

“Sa wakas, hindi na puwedeng itanggi na nagnakaw ang mga Marcos mula sa taumbayan.  Nahatulan sila at pinatalsik noong People Power Revolution, at ngayon naman, nahatulan na sa korte,” he said.

Pangilinan hopes that the anti-graft court will see this conviction through without giving Mrs. Marcos any special treatment.

Senator Panfilo Lacson believes that justice is the real victim in this case regardless of the court decision.

“She’s now 89 years old. Her cases were first investigated more than three decades ago. Her conviction is still subject to appeal. Regardless of the verdict, justice is the clear victim,” he said in a separate text message to GMA News Online.

Senator Risa Hontiveros called on the public at large to closely monitor the case and all the other cases filed against the Marcoses.

“We must not allow the Marcos family to influence and undermine our collective process to search for truth, justice and accountability,” she said in a separate statement.

The ruling is an important lesson in justice, the senator said.

Pangilinan applauded the order to arrest Mrs. Marcos arrest and her perpetual disqualification from holding public office, especially since she is running for governor of Ilocos Norte.

However, Pangilinan noted the case that lasted least 34 years and reflected on the condition of the country’s judicial system.

“This points to how long and therefore frustrating the Philippine judicial system is, and especially in relation to how powerful and powerfully entrenched the accused are. Ordinary Filipinos pay the price of their mistakes right away, like the jeepney driver who has to pay kotong,” he said.

“Let us ensure that this people’s win of justice becomes a reality. Let us work for a judicial system where no one is above the law,” he added.

“The Marcoses may be able to temporarily evade accountability, they may be able, for the moment, to cheat history and whitewash their crimes with the use of ‘alternative facts’ and fake news, they may climb their way back to power and even hide behind the back of President Rodrigo Duterte, but justice will eventually push its way through their walls of impunity,” Hontiversos noted.

“They can dam a river but they can never dam the ocean. The waves of justice will always find a way to make them accountable,” she added.

Hontiveros hopes that the ruling would serve as a crucial electoral guide to the voters this coming elections saying the people must not allow what she claims as historical revisionism and the shameful trail of plunder, murder and dictatorship to win in the ballot box.

“The Filipino people must not allow our elections to be used to invalidate the people’s struggle against the Marcos dictatorship,” she said.

Detained Senator Leila de Lima said the guilty verdict is long overdue, but still a welcome relief in the tedious struggle to make the Marcoses and their cohorts accountable for their crimes.

“This development also serves as a reminder to other abusive and crooked officials— the current occupant in Malacañang included—that the long arm of the law and justice will catch up with them,” she said in another statement.

Despite the slow grind of the system, Aquino said that what happened may be the beginning of the country’s move towards truth and justice.   

“The acknowledgment of the truth about our history and the assurance of justice for a nation robbed of its riches and potential will finally allow us to move on,” Aquino said. —VDS, GMA News