Sandigan agrees to expedite forfeiture case vs Disini

Government lawyers have persuaded the Sandiganbayan First Division to speed up the proceedings in the forfeiture lawsuit against alleged Marcos crony, Herminio Disini, to beat the December 31 deadline set by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. The Swiss court, in its August 30 resolution, said it will lift a 20-year-old freeze order on a $4 million Credit Suisse deposit in the name of Disini's wife, Paciencia Escolin, and children Herminio Angel and Lea Disini, unless the Philippine government is able to submit a local court decision awarding the funds in favor of the state. Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, division chair, noted that there are still a number of pending incidents in Civil Case No. 0013, but conceded the urgency of the situation. A third-party claimant to a real estate property confiscated by the government has surfaced seeking to intervene in the case while the Presidential Commission on Good Government has also moved to drop former Development Bank of the Philippines president Rafael Sison as a defendant. "Trial will proceed without prejudice to the outcome of the pending incidents in this case," de Castro said. Once Sison is dropped as a defendant, the government can start presenting its evidence unimpeded as the estate of the late President Ferdinand Marcos and former first lady Imelda Marcos have already been declared in default on June 23, 1989 for failure to file their answers to the complaint. On August 27, 2002, it was Disini's turn to be declared in default. All three are now barred from presenting their own evidence. Disini's lawyers, however, filed a motion seeking the recall of the default ruling, which presents a prejudicial incident that must be resolved before the government can start its presentation of evidence. The Sandiganbayan gave the PCGG and the Office of the Solicitor General three 'non-extendible' days to file their comment on Disini's motion while the defendant was given the same period to reply. Assistant Solicitor General Marissa B. de la Cruz-Galandines, meanwhile, asked that the Sandiganbayan place all of Disini's assets under court custody to prevent the possibility that the Credit Suisse bank account will be emptied if the Swiss court requirement is not met. "Due to the urgency of the matter, we request that all assets of Disini be placed under custodia legis," she said. Disini's lawyer, however, balked, saying the government had already blocked access to the deposits for over 20 years and placing the fund under custodia legis practically means an extension of the freeze order. -GMANews.TV