Lawyers say Marcos-owned foundations blocking Martial Law victims’ claims

Less than two weeks before the 40th anniversary of the issuance of Proclamation No. 1081, attorneys representing the families of Martial Law victims are claiming that foreign foundations set up by the late former President Ferdinand Marcos and his family have been actively opposing their efforts to recover around US$65 million of the Marcoses' ill-gotten wealth. At a press briefing on Tuesday at the Club Filipino in San Juan, American human rights lawyer Robert Swift and his Filipino counterpart Rod Domingo Jr.said various foundations founded by the Marcoses in Panama and Liechtenstein to stash away their loot have been actively blocking the Martial Law victims’ claims to the money. Domingo said the Liechtenstein foundations were set up by the Marcoses in the 1970s to funnel the money into Swiss banks. The duo also stated that the Philippine government and the Philippine National Bank are also depriving the victims of their claim to the Marcos funds. “Some of the parties to the case are not only the government and the PNB but also several of the Marcoses' Liechtenstein foundations such as Maler, Avertina, Palmy, Vibur and Aguamina in Panama,” said Domingo. A text message sent to Marcos’ son, Sen. Bongbong Marcos, asking for comment on the issue was unanswered. Swift and Domingo earlier appealed the ruling of a Singapore court on US$23 million of Marcos funds kept in the Singapore branch of German bank WestLB AG. The court had ruled that the PNB was also entitled to the funds. The Singapore court included the PNB as party to the case, joining the Martial Law victims and the Philippine government, which the lawyers said should not be the case. “At the trial, PNB acknowledged that it had no title to the fund and the money was not then in its possession. Nonetheless, the Singapore court sided with the PNB since its name was on the account,” said the lawyers. “We hope that Singapore’s highest court will correct this injustice,” they also said. The lawyers said the recent setback in the Singapore court may affect the victims’ bid to the US$42 million Arelma funds of the Marcoses, now held by finance and insurance company Merrill Lynch, pending in a New York court. — Gian C. Geronimo/BM, GMA News