Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA) and Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) condemned the Sandiganbayan’s dismissal of a forfeiture case over the alleged ₱50 billion stolen wealth of the Marcos family from the dictatorship era.
The Sandiganbayan Special Division ordered dismissal of the case on June 2 for the prosecution’s excessive delay in presenting evidence. The case had been pending for 30 years. The resolution followed the Presidential Commission on Good Government’s announcement that it would not submit additional evidence, since most properties had already been recovered through separate civil suits. The 1991 case was the last pending criminal forfeiture suit against the Marcoses, estimated at $5 billion. The court’s Special Division had previously faulted government lawyers for prolonged delay in presenting evidence and witnesses.
“Ferdinand Marcos Jr has accomplished what he set out to do when he ran for president–to recoup his family’s ill-gotten wealth sequestered by the government and tied in litigation,” CARMMA spokesperson Kris Lacaba said.
Lacaba said Marcos Jr has again reclaimed their stolen wealth while benefiting from ongoing government corruption.
“Ferdinand Marcos Jr may think he and his clique have finally come full circle… They forget that an enraged Filipino people can also come full circle in their ability to oust this kleptocratic clique from power,” Lacaba said.
GWP said dismissal of the remaining recovery cases should not be taken as vindication of the Marcos family. Earlier court decisions had remitted and returned hundreds of millions of dollars in Swiss deposits, properties, jewelry, and other assets linked to the Marcoses. These recoveries concretely prove the plunder and misuse of public resources through abuse of power during the dictatorship, the women’s party said.
“With ordinary Filipinos told to tighten their belts amid rising prices and an economic crisis, ending hearings on the remaining ill-gotten wealth cases raises grave alarm that the state is abandoning its duty to hold the guilty accountable,” GWP representative Sara Elago explained.
“What is at stake is not only recovery of assets but preservation of historical truth… the Filipino people fought and sacrificed to end a dictatorship notorious for corruption and repression. The people deserve to know the full truth, full recovery of stolen wealth, and the full justice long overdue,” Elago added.
“The fight against plunder and impunity does not end with the dismissal of one case. It continues until justice is fully achieved,” Elago concluded.
