Paoay property belongs to Marcos, Bongbong tells Sandiganbayan

Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr asked the Sandiganbayan First Division earlier this month to junk the claim of the government over a 57-hectare lakeside property in Paoay, Ilocos Norte which he says is owned by his father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos.

 

Bongbong also said the government should now leave the said property as the lease agreement between his father and the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) signed in 1978 expired a decade ago. The said lease was for 25 years, Bongbong said in an 18-page memorandum filed by his lawyers on January 4.

 

The continued occupation of the said property by the government is already illegal, Bongbong added, stressing that no forfeiture case has been filed concerning the property.
 

The said property houses the Malacañang ti Amianan (Malacañang of the North), Maharlika Hall, Suba Sports Complex (also known as Paoay Sports Complex) and an 18-hole golf course.
 

Earlier, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) asked the Sandiganbayan to declare the lease agreement for the said property void, saying the former President is not its owner.

 

Under the contract, the PTA is required to pay Marcos as “lessor and owner” a nominal lease fee of P1 per year for 25 years.

 

Government lawyers disputed this, however, saying that it was illegal for Marcos to enter into business dealings or have financial interest in government contracts, as specified in the 1973 Constitution and RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

 

There was no certificate of title for the property in the lease contract, nor was there any record that Marcos paid real estate tax on it, government lawyers said.

 

Bongbong, however, said the Sandiganbayan has no jurisdiction over the case since it is not about the recovery of supposed ill-gotten wealth. He said the petition of the government should be dismissed.

 

“(T)his action is not one for recovery of ill-gotten wealth, coupled with the fact that the parcels of land are not under sequestration, this Honorable Court must dismiss for lack of jurisdiction,” Bongbong's lawyers said.

 

Bongbong added that the PCGG is not the lessee in the contract. If there is anyone who should seek to nullify the lease contract, it should be the PTA, the lessee.

 

Bongbong also said the PCGG's action to seek the nullification of the lease contract for the Paoay property is already moot since the contract expired in 2003. —KG, GMA News