Marcos, Lim families must return ill-gotten wealth – Sandiganbayan

The Marcoses and the family of alleged Marcos crony Alfonso Lim must return all properties claimed by the government, the Sandiganbayan Second Division ordered in a 35-page decision on December 14, 2015 but released to the media only on Monday.

The Lims are owners of the logging companies Taggat Industries Inc. and Pamplona Redwood Veneer Co. Inc.

In a decision on the 28-year civil case filed by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) in 1987, the Sandiganbayan ordered the Marcos and Lim families to return various properties which were found to be illegally obtained through timber concessions and management contracts which "unjustly enriched" both families.

According to the Sandiganbayan, the remaining assets registered to Alfonso Lim which may be considered for possible compromise settlements are parcels of land with a total estimated value of P378 million in 2006. These include assets in Tagaytay City valued at P206.6 million, in Batangas worth P96.8 million, and in Angono Rizal estimated at P74.5 million.  Lim died in 2002.

Excluding the untitled land in Tagaytay City, the real estate properties are mortgaged for P25.316 million in favor of the Philippine National Bank  (PNB) and for and P54.000 million to the National Investment and Development Corp.

The property in Batangas is the subject of a civil case pending before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 18 in Tagaytay City, while the six parcels of land in Angono, Rizal are now fully occupied by squatters, the Sandiganbayan said in its ruling.

Other properties

Other properties supposedly obtained illegally by the families, such as parcels of land in Cagayan and Manila, have already been sold at public auctions to settle tax liabilities and various labor claims.

Meanwhile, plant and equipment properties of Taggat Industries and Pamplona Redwood have fully depreciated while all the other corporations now have zero value in shares of stocks.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked the shares of Taggat Industries, Pamplona Redwood, and other companies like Sierra Madre Wood Industries Inc., Western Cagayan Lumber Inc., and Southern Plywood Corp. in 2013 for non-compliance with the SEC reportorial requirements.

"With respect to the bank accounts in the name of Pamplona Redwood Veneer Inc. and Taggat Industries, we can presume that these accounts no longer exist," the ruling read.

Also sequestered were the two Cessna aircrafts – RP-C208 Cessna Centurion II and RP-C333 Cessna Golden Eagle – registered under the name of Taggat Industries at the Manila Domestic Airport. The aircrafts have been grounded since 1994.

Aside from Alfonso Lim Sr. and Former President Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Imelda Marcos, the other defendants in the case were Alfonso Lim Jr., Teodoro Q. Peña, Taggat Industries, Pamplona Redwood, Southern Plywood, Western Cagayan, Veterans Woodworks Inc., Sierra Madre Wood, and Tropical Philippines Wood Industries Inc.

Last November, the PCGG and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) commissioned the appraisal of some 760 pieces of the Marcos jewelry collection earlier confiscated by the government.

According to PCGG Commissioner Andrew A. De Castro, the PCGG is also exerting efforts to find some 200 high-value paintings said to include some paintings by Picasso. – Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VS, GMA News