After the Presidential Commission on Good Government and the Office of the Solicitor General lost at least five ill-gotten wealth cases against the family of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, PCGG Acting Chairperson Reynold Munsayac said they would exhaust all remedies to be able to fulfill its mandate to recover the wealth it said was stolen by the Marcoses.
The PCGG and the OSG, in particular, lost a huge P200-billion forfeiture case that included bank deposits, real properties, companies, radio and television stations and aircraft located in the Philippines and abroad.
“The PCGG will closely coordinate with the OSG to ensure that all available remedies will be availed of to protect government interest,” Munsayac said in a statement.
He did not, however, specify such remedies.
He added that the PCGG is open for a congressional investigation in connection with their five lost cases, which he said were mainly caused by the submission of evidence that were mere photocopies instead of the original, which does not meet the best evidence rule.
“PCGG welcomes Senator [Richard] Gordon’s pronouncement that he intends to initiate a Senate inquiry on the recent Sandiganbayan decisions involving PCGG. The PCGG will cooperate with the Senate and submit all available data regarding the cases,” he said.
But Munsayac said that the current PCGG leadership cannot be blamed for the work of people who came before them.
“The PCGG, however, reiterates that all of these cases were filed and litigated during previous administrations, some of which were already submitted for decision as early as 2010,” Munsayac said.
He added that most of the cases filed against the Marcoses were litigated before President Rodrigo R. Duterte became the country’s chief executive.
He said the PCGG will closely coordinate with the Office of the Solicitor General “to ensure that all available remedies will be availed of to protect government interest.”
Gordon, chair of Blue-Ribbon Committee, did not say when the probe would start but added that they were just studying which committee will conduct the probe. With PNA