Makati traders suspect gov’t-Marcos ‘secret deal’ on ill-gotten wealth

The Makati Business Club has spoken out against recent moves by the Presidential Commission on Good Government which it said could mean the government had entered into a “secret deal" with the Marcoses on the recovery of several ill-gotten assets. “The attempts by the [family of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos] to recover assets hidden by the dictator’s cronies (raise) questions to which the Filipino people deserve answers," the group said in a statement Friday. “After 21 years since Marcos fell from power, why is his family asserting their claim now? In so doing, are they not exposing themselves to legal and tax liabilities?" The group added: “Do they have a secret deal with the Arroyo administration to give up part of the assets in order to escape liabilities? Aside from the Marcoses and the government, are there other parties who stand to benefit from these secret deals?" The statement was sent out after the Marcos family asserted its claims on several companies controlled by tobacco magnate Lucio Tan. Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong" Marcos, the late dictator’s son, has even agreed to testify for the side of the government that is fighting to wrest control of Tan’s companies. The government is claiming 60 percent ownership of these Tan firms: Fortune Tobacco Corp., Asia Brewery, Inc., Allied Banking Corp., Foremost Farms, Himmel Industries, Inc., Grandspan Development Corp., Silangan Holdings, Inc., Dominium Realty and Construction Corp and Shareholdings, Inc. On the other hand, the late strongman’s daughter former Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos, is claiming that her family owns some 28 percent of GMA Network Inc. Marcos said the shares, which are now held by the Duavit family, were purchased with their family’s money and only given for safekeeping to former Assemblyman Gilberto Duavit. The PCGG has denied forging a secret deal with the Marcoses and, insisting that Bongbong Marcos took the witness stand on the government's behalf as a "hostile witness." “While the government direly needs to recover assets to finance its expenditures, must it do so at the cost of moral principle? Are we, the people of the Philippines willing to have more roads and schoolhouses built by filling the pockets of the Marcos family and possibly other questionable beneficiaries," the group said. The government is currently struggling to meet its budget deficit target of P63 billion for this year. The budget deficit ballooned to P41.9 billion in the first half, P9.7 billion above target and already 65 percent of the full-year goal. This was because revenues for the period fell short of target by P47.7 billion. The Arroyo administration wants to move on to a balanced budget by the end of 2008 to end a decade of the country suffering through budget deficits. The Makati Business Club also questioned PCGG’s efficiency, saying that the agency’s failure to resolve most of its claims against the Marcos family may be the reason for the “compromise." “What is the record of the PCGG in its mission of recovering ill-gotten wealth? How much has it recovered and how much has it spend in recovering assets? Has it ever made a public accounting of its activities since its inception?" MBC asked. “How many cases has the Office of the Solicitor General filed here and abroad and how many cases have they won and lost? Is the lack of effectiveness of the PCGG and the OSG the reason for the need to compromise?" it added. - GMANews.TV