Marcos backers: Compromise deal shows gov't has no case

Lawyers and supporters of former First Lady Imelda Marcos allege that the Arroyo administration’s attempt to strike a compromise deal with the Marcos family only goes to show the government has no evidence to back its allegations of ill-gotten wealth. Salvador Panelo, one of Marcos’ lawyers who was a guest in Thusday night’s episode of GMA-7’s “Debate with Mare and Pare", said he is opposed to such a deal because the Marcoses have no ill-gotten wealth anyway. Panelo also told GMANews.TV that the former First Lady was not in favor of a compromise agreement. However, it is another Marcos lawyer, Robert Sison, who is holding talks with Ricardo Abecede, chairman of the Philippine Commission on Good Government (PCGG). Other “Debate" guests, Rep. Roque Ablan (1D, Ilocos Norte) and Fernando Diaz, part of Marcos senior staff, echoed Panelo’s reasoning in regard to why there was no need for an out-of-court settlement. Panelo added that it was the government that initiated talks on a compromise deal. “Ayaw siguro nilang (government) mapahiya," he said. (The government probably don’t want to get embarrassed in court.) Malacañang backed the PCGG's move, saying it would bring “closure" to the two-decades-old cases against the Marcoses. The PCGG has offered immunity from criminal and civil cases to the Marcos in exchange for disclosing and returning ill-gotten wealth. The late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the country for 20 years, was ousted in the 1986 EDSA “people power" uprising. The Marcos family is accused of amassing billions of dollars worth of ill-gotten wealth.-GMANews.TV