STOLEN WEALTH OF MARCOS MUST BE FULLY DIVULGED
AS CONDITION FOR COMPROMISE

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said he recognizes the prerogative of the government to enter into a compromise agreement on the civil cases relations to the Marcoses ill-gotten wealth cases but stressed that there must be full and complete disclosure of the plundered assets of the late President Ferdinand Marcos.

Pimentel said former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos and members of his family should reveal the real estate properties, investments, bank accounts and other assets acquired by the late strongman located in the Philippines or abroad.

If at all the government will forge a compromise deal with on the Marcos wealth, it must be based on its total and not partial value. The process must be open and transparent. Otherwise, the people will end up the losers for it, he said.

The minority leader said past efforts to strike an out-of-court settlement on the wealth cases failed because of the lack of sincerity on the part of the Marcoses to divulge the extent of the stolen wealth of the late dictator, specially those stashed away in the secret bank accounts abroad.

During his chairmanship of the Senate blue ribbon committee from 1998 to 2001, Pimentel conducted an exhaustive inquiry into the Marcos hidden wealth.

Noting that the Marcoses expect to keep a portion of the questioned wealth, Pimentel emphasized that there must be a reasonable ratio between how much they can retain and how much should go to the government. Probably a 90% to 10% ratio in favor of the government.

He branded as unacceptable the sharing ratio adopted during the time of President Fidel Ramos in which 30 percent would be retained by the Marcoses and 70 percent would go to the government.