by MLC | Nov 24, 2018 | Martial Law Analysis
By: Gabriel Pabico Lalu
Source: Inquirer.net
THE MARCOSES Ferdinand and Imelda PHOTO FROM “CHRONOLOGY OF A REVOLUTION”
Former President Ferdinand Marcos could also be facing possible arrest if he were alive, as the three cases where former First Lady and Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos was acquitted has pointed to the late strongman as mastermind.
Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division said in a decision on Friday that while Mrs. Marcos intervened in acquiring a Central Bank loan for ARCI, a locally-based entity, it was Mr. Marcos who personally participated in its management.
” A review of evidence points not to Ms. Marcos, but to her husband Mr. Marcos, who personally participated in the management, control, and direction of the affairs of ARCI,” Sandiganbayan said in page 68 of its 70-page decision.
The anti-graft court said that the crimes committed by Mr. Marcos, who was president from 1965 to 1986, cannot be attributed to the former first lady.
“Criminal responsibility being personal to the perpetrator thereof, cannot be attributed by implication to Ms. Marcos,” Associate Justice Maryann Corpus-Mañalac said in the decision
“Evidence of her active participation in the management of and control thereof, which is prohibited under Article VIII, Section 11 of the 1973 Constitution, is insufficient,” she added.
Mrs. Marcos was found guilty for seven counts of graft as she was involved in managing Swiss foundations and transferring money around $200 million to banks in Switzerland, while she was a Batasang Pambansa member, Metro Manila governor, and Minister of Human Resettlement.
While acquitted in two other cases, she is still facing possible jail time of from six years and one month up to 11 years for each count. She is given 30 days to explain her absence during the promulgation, and to file her motion for reconsideration.
She is also allowed to post bail, as graft is a bailable offense. However, if the decision is ruled with finality, she will also be disallowed from holding any public office. /jpv
READ: Imelda Marcos guilty of graft, ordered arrested
by MLC | Nov 22, 2018 | Martial Law Analysis
By: Gabriel Pabico Lalu
Source: Inquirer.net
Former first lady and Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos has been found guilty of seven counts of graft by the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division.
According to a decision by the anti-graft court on Friday, Marcos was sentenced to imprisonment of from six years and one month, up to 11 years for each count.
This was for violating R. A. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, when she transferred around $200 million to seven Swiss foundations during her term as a member of the defunct Batasang Pambansa, as Metro Manila Governor, and as then Minister of Human Settlements.
Associate Justice Rafael Lagos of the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division also ordered the arrest of Marcos.
The Marcoses did not attend the legal proceedings.
The anti-graft court gave Imelda 30 days to explain her absence. She can still post bail for her temporary liberty as graft is a bailable case, the amount, however, has yet to be set by the court.
If the Sandiganbayan’s decision is ruled with finality, she will be perpetually disqualified from holding any public office, although she can still continue her gubernatorial bid in Ilocos Norte as her camp can still file a motion for reconsideration.
“Pwede niyang iakyat sa Supreme Court kung may nakita siyang grave abuse of discretion sa desisyon ng Sandiganbayan so hindi pa ho siya final and executory,” Assistant Special Prosecutor Ryan Quilala told reporters after the promulgation.
According to Quilala, Mrs. Marcos, along with her late husband former president Ferdinand Marcos, allegedly took part in managing Swiss foundations, namely Maler, Rayby, Palmy, Azio-Verso-Vibur, Aguamina, Avertina-Xandy-Wintrop-Charis-Scholari-Valamao-Spinus and Banque Paribas-Gladiator-Mabari-Volubries-Cesar-Gardenia using fake names.
The practice was disallowed under the 1973 Constitution.
“Lahat po ‘yon, do’n binuksan sa Switzerland, actually silang mag-asawa ang nag-bukas. And makikita ninyo, para itago ‘yong account nang hindi natin makita, gumamit sila ng mga pseudonyms, si Presidente (Marcos) ang ginamit niya parang William Saunders, si Imelda Marcos ang ginamit niya Jane Ryan,” Quilala said.
“But ‘yong mga pag-open ng accounts, lahat ng documents, pumipirma siya ng as Imelda Marcos,” he added.
These were the last 10 pending criminal cases in Sandiganbayan against the former First Lady who was acquitted in three other cases involving local foundations, due to lack of concrete evidence.
The cases were filed in 1991 (17287 to 17291), 1993 (19225), and 1995 (22867 to 22870), spanning around more than two decades, several presiding judges and prosecution members.
The Marcoses, including their children Ilocos Sur Governor Imee Marcos and former Senator Bongbong Marcos, have been accused of massive graft and corruption cases during the Marcos administration from 1965 to 1986.
The Presidential Commission on Good Governance (PCGG) has managed to recover P170.45 billion of the estimated $5 to $10 billion alleged Marcos ill-gotten wealth./muf/ac
by MLC | Nov 21, 2018 | Martial Law Analysis
Source: Rappler
Former first lady Imelda Marcos at Senator Bongbong Marcos rally in Mandaluyong.
GUILTY. Former first lady Imelda Marcos is found guilty of 7 counts of graft for creating private organizations in Switzerland while she was a government official from 1968 to 1986. File photo by Rob Reyes/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan convicted Ilocos Norte 2nd District Representative Imelda Marcos of 7 counts of graft related to private organizations created in Switzerland while she was a government official from 1968 to 1986.
“Wherefore, premises considered, this Court finds the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt…,” said the 5th Division Clerk of Court while reading the verdict on Friday, November 9.
Neither Marcos nor any of her lawyers were present during the promulgation of decision.
The 89-year-old Marcos was sentenced to prison for 6 years and 1 month to 11 years for each case. She is also perpetually disqualified from holding public office.
By the end of the hearing, 5th Division Chairman Associate Justice Rafael Lagos also ordered the issuance of a warrant of arrest against Marcos.
But the Ombudsman lead prosecutor, as well as the 5th Division, clarified that because graft is a bailable case, she can have provisional liberty while she is appealing the conviction. Upon payment of bonds, the warrants of arrest will be lifted.
Lead prosecutor Rey Quilala said the ballpark figure of the public money involved in the private organizations amounts to US$200 million.
“It involves 7 Swiss foundations, tapos kinu-close ‘yung ibang foundation, ita-transfer sa ibang foundation, and then close it again, transfer sa ibang foundation, na-trace po yung flow ng pera,” said Quilala.
(It involves 7 Swiss foundations, then they close the foundations, then they transfer it to another foundation, and then close it again, transfer to another foundation, so we traced the flow of the money.)
Marcos was acquitted for the remaining 3 counts involving local corporations based in the Philippines. The charges were filed way back 1991.
The 3 counts where she was acquitted involved foundations based in the Philippines.
“Sa local corporation kasi may isang corporation na gina-guarantee ng Pilipinas ‘yung loan ng $25 million and then hindi na pinabayaran. Pilipinas ang nag-guarantee. ‘Yung ocal corporations po ‘yun,” Quilala said.
(There was one local coporation which guaranteed a loan of $25 million, and they were not asked to pay. The Philippines guaranteed it. Those are for the local corporations.)
“Victory pa rin po ito (This is still a victory),” said Quilala.
The justices who decided the case are Associate Justices Rafael Lagos, Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega and Maryann Corpus-Mañalac.
The guilty verdict gives a clear picture of the “entrepreneurial” scheme of the former first family.
This is Marcos’ 2nd Sandiganbayan conviction. In 1993, the Court’s First Division convicted her of two counts of graft over anomalous contracts involving a lease between the Light Rail Transit Authority and the Philippine General Hospital Foundation, Inc. But in 1998, the Supreme Court acquitted her.
According to the latest list of the Sandiganbayan’s docket section, there is no remaining criminal case against Marcos. She was charged for 28 criminal cases – the last 10 of which were the ones decided on Friday, where she was convicted of 7 counts, and acquitted of 3.
There remain, however, civil cases mainly involving forfeiture. Quilala was not able to immediately confirm if the money involved in the Swiss foundations is also being recovered by the government in those civil cases. – Rappler.com
by MLC | Nov 20, 2018 | Martial Law Analysis
By: Associated Press
Source: NBC News
Former First Lady Imelda Marcos visits the gravesite of her late husband former strongman Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes Cemetery on Nov. 1, 2018.Francis R. Malasig / EPA
MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine court found former first lady Imelda Marcos guilty of graft and ordered her arrest Friday in a rare conviction among many corruption cases that she plans to appeal to avoid jail and losing her seat in Congress.
The special anti-graft Sandiganbayan court sentenced Marcos, 89, to serve 6 to 11 years in prison for each of the seven counts of violating an anti-corruption law when she illegally funneled about $200 million to Swiss foundations in the 1970s as Metropolitan Manila governor.
Neither Marcos nor anyone representing her attended Friday’s court hearing.
Marcos said in a statement that the decision was being studied by one of her lawyers who notified the Marcos family that he intends to appeal the decision. Anti-Marcos activists and human rights victims welcomed the conviction as long overdue.
The court disqualified Marcos from holding public office, but she can remain a member of the powerful House of Representatives while appealing the decision. Her congressional term will end next year but she has registered to run to replace her daughter as governor of northern Ilocos Norte province.
“I was jumping up and down in joy in disbelief,” said former Commission on Human Rights chairwoman Loretta Ann Rosales, who was among many activists locked up after Imelda’s husband, former President Ferdinand Marcos, declared martial law in the Philippines in 1972.
Rosales said the decision was a huge setback to efforts by the Marcos family to revise history by denying many of the atrocities under the dictatorship, and urged Filipinos to fight all threats against democracy and civil liberties.
Former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who was also jailed during the Marcos dictatorship, said it was up to voters in next year’s May 13 local elections, where Marcos is a candidate, if they want “somebody who has a bad name representing them, that’s your call.”
Imelda Marcos’ husband was ousted by an army-backed “people power” revolt in 1986. He died in self-exile in Hawaii in 1989 but his widow and children returned to the Philippines. Most have been elected to public offices in an impressive political comeback.
Government prosecutor Ryan Quilala told reporters that Marcos and her husband opened and managed Swiss foundations in violation of the Philippine Constitution, using aliases in a bid to hide stolen funds.
The Marcoses have been accused of plundering the government’s coffers amid crushing poverty. They have denied any wrongdoing and have successfully fought many other corruption cases.
Imelda Marcos was acquitted Friday in three other cases, which were filed in 1991 and took nearly three decades of trial by several judges and prosecutors. She was once convicted of a graft case in 1993, but the Supreme Court later cleared her of any wrongdoing.
President Rodrigo Duterte, an ally of the Marcoses, said last year the Marcos family had indicated a willingness to return a still-unspecified amount of money and “a few gold bars” to help ease budget deficits. He indicated the family still denied that the assets had been stolen as alleged by political opponents.
Ferdinand Marcos had placed the Philippines under martial rule a year before his term was to expire. He padlocked Congress, ordered the arrest of political rivals and left-wing activists and ruled by decree. His family is said to have amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power.
A Hawaii court found Marcos liable for human rights violations and awarded $2 billion from his estate to compensate more than 9,000 Filipinos who filed a lawsuit against him for torture, incarceration, extrajudicial killings and disappearances.
Duterte has acknowledged that Imee Marcos, the couple’s daughter and a provincial governor, backed his presidential candidacy.
by MLC | Nov 19, 2018 | Martial Law Analysis
Source: THE HINDU
The court disqualified Marcos from holding public office but she can remain a member of the powerful House of Representatives while appealing the decision.
A Philippine court has found former first lady Imelda Marcos guilty of graft and ordered her arrest in a rare conviction among many corruption cases that she’s likely to appeal to avoid jail and losing her seat in Congress.
The anti-graft Sandiganbayan court sentenced the 89-year-old Marcos to serve 6 to 11 years in prison for each of the seven counts for violating an anti-corruption law when she illegally funneled about $200 million to Swiss foundations in the 1970s.
Neither Marcos nor anyone representing her attended Friday’s court hearing.
The court disqualified Marcos from holding public office but she can remain a member of the powerful House of Representatives while appealing the decision.
by MLC | Nov 18, 2018 | Martial Law Analysis
Source: AP NEWS
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine court found former first lady Imelda Marcos guilty of graft and ordered her arrest Friday in a rare conviction among many corruption cases that she plans to appeal to avoid jail and losing her seat in Congress.
The special anti-graft Sandiganbayan court sentenced Marcos, 89, to serve 6 to 11 years in prison for each of the seven counts of violating an anti-corruption law when she illegally funneled about $200 million to Swiss foundations in the 1970s as Metropolitan Manila governor.
Neither Marcos nor anyone representing her attended Friday’s court hearing.
Marcos said in a statement that the decision was being studied by one of her lawyers who notified the Marcos family that he intends to appeal the decision. Anti-Marcos activists and human rights victims welcomed the conviction as long overdue.
The court disqualified Marcos from holding public office, but she can remain a member of the powerful House of Representatives while appealing the decision. Her congressional term will end next year but she has registered to run to replace her daughter as governor of northern Ilocos Norte province.
“I was jumping up and down in joy in disbelief,” said former Commission on Human Rights chairwoman Loretta Ann Rosales, who was among many activists locked up after Imelda’s husband, former President Ferdinand Marcos, declared martial law in the Philippines in 1972.
Rosales said the decision was a huge setback to efforts by the Marcos family to revise history by denying many of the atrocities under the dictatorship, and urged Filipinos to fight all threats against democracy and civil liberties.
Former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who was also jailed during the Marcos dictatorship, said it was up to voters in next year’s May 13 local elections, where Marcos is a candidate, if they want “somebody who has a bad name representing them, that’s your call.”
Imelda Marcos’ husband was ousted by an army-backed “people power” revolt in 1986. He died in self-exile in Hawaii in 1989 but his widow and children returned to the Philippines. Most have been elected to public offices in an impressive political comeback.
Government prosecutor Ryan Quilala told reporters that Marcos and her husband opened and managed Swiss foundations in violation of the Philippine Constitution, using aliases in a bid to hide stolen funds. The Marcoses have been accused of plundering the government’s coffers amid crushing poverty. They have denied any wrongdoing and have successfully fought many other corruption cases.
Imelda Marcos was acquitted Friday in three other cases, which were filed in 1991 and took nearly three decades of trial by several judges and prosecutors. She was once convicted of a graft case in 1993, but the Supreme Court later cleared her of any wrongdoing.
President Rodrigo Duterte, an ally of the Marcoses, said last year the Marcos family had indicated a willingness to return a still-unspecified amount of money and “a few gold bars” to help ease budget deficits. He indicated the family still denied that the assets had been stolen as alleged by political opponents.
Ferdinand Marcos had placed the Philippines under martial rule a year before his term was to expire. He padlocked Congress, ordered the arrest of political rivals and left-wing activists and ruled by decree. His family is said to have amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power.
A Hawaii court found Marcos liable for human rights violations and awarded $2 billion from his estate to compensate more than 9,000 Filipinos who filed a lawsuit against him for torture, incarceration, extrajudicial killings and disappearances.
Duterte has acknowledged that Imee Marcos, the couple’s daughter and a provincial governor, backed his presidential candidacy.
