The son-in-law of the late President Ferdinand Marcos has asked the Sandiganbayan to release his shares in four corporations that were sequestered by the Corazon Aquino administration.
Businessman Gregorio “Greggy”Araneta III said the shares that were listed under his name remained sequestered although the cases against him in connection with the Marcos illegal wealth were dismissed 14 years ago.
Araneta asked the anti-graft court’s Fourth Division for the release his shares at Northern Express Transport Inc., Golden Needle Inc., High Five Philippines Inc., and Philippine Semi-Conductor Devices Inc.
Araneta filed his latest motion after the Sandiganbayan released two of his properties—Imexco Enterprises Inc. and Asialand Development Corp.—from the supervision of the Presidential Commission on Good Government.
According to the anti-graft court, the PCGG does not have any reason to maintain or control the said assets after it granted the demurrer to evidence of Araneta in 2005, which the Supreme Court affirmed in 2012.
With the release of the two properties Araneta, husband of Marcos’s youngest child, Irene, said the Sandiganbayan should release the rest of the properties under his name because he is no longer a defendant in Civil Case 0002.
“It would be illogical to maintain these assets as part of this pending case because there would be no party defendant left to which these assets were attributed since the case against Araneta had already been dismissed,” Araneta said.
“As such, no party would be remaining to defend the conflicting claims involved and there was no more conflicting claim to to begin with. Plaintiff Republic failed to prove that Araneta committed acts in violation of existing laws,” he added.
Araneta claimed these assets were sequestered due to its links to him and not to former First Lady Imelda Marcos and her children Imee, Ferdinand Jr., and Irene.
He said retaining these properties in the case would be the ‘height of inequality” and makes the Marcos family heirs to assets not part of their estate.
