PCGG: Settlement with Marcoses completed this year

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) is confident it would finish within the year settlement negotiations for the estimated $10 billion ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family. PCGG Commissioner Ric Abcede told GMA 7's DZBB that the government has asked former first lady Imelda Marcos and her lawyers to submit a list of her family's wealth abroad. He said he expects Imelda to "honestly" declare the location of her family's various "hidden" accounts. "Kailangan may good faith kapag nakikipag-usap ka. At naniniwala din naman ako na in good faith ang pakikipag-usap ni Mrs. Marcos at ng mga abogado niya. They are really willing to settle," he said. He said the PCGG would validate the existence of the overseas assets that the former first lady would submit. "Of course, we will not take that [list] at face value. We will check their existence," he said. He claimed the commission has received "tips" from "well-meaning Filipinos" living abroad that the Marcos family has secret accounts in Spain, Switzerland and other countries in Europe and even in the United States. Abcede said one of the issues being threshed out in the closed-door compromise talks is Imelda's condition that proceeds from the sale of the seized Marcos assets should be given to a charitable foundation of her choice. He added that the settlement deal with the family of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos might involve the dropping of numerous civil cases against the family in exchange for the surrendering of their assets to the PCGG. "But if they do not show good faith during the negotiations, tuloy ang mga kaso," he said. Abcede admitted he has yet to consult with Malacañang about the ongoing negotiation talks with Marcos family. "No, I did not consult with her (Imelda), we did not get [her] permission. We have to do what we think is right. Kung may makita silang (Palace officials) mali sa ginagawa naming, then they can call our attention," he said. He added that once a compromise agreement is reached with the Marcoses, and once this has been approved by the PCGG en banc and the Office of the Solicitor General, "then perhaps we can then bring it up to the Office of the President for approval." Once presidential permission is obtained, he said the PCGG would then go to the courts for the final approval of the agreement. "We will show Congress a copy of the agreement, if they want. Everything will be transparent here," Abcede assured.-GMANews.TV