By all indications, it seems that the PCGG has already lost its sense of purpose.

In an article which appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on 22 April 2006 (PCGG: Deal with the Marcoses Near), Commissioner Ricardo Abcede has announced that his institution-the Presidential Commission on Good Government-is already preparing a possible compromise settlement with the Marcoses by the end of the year. He further stated that the said Commission was even considering either dropping some the cases against the former strongman’s kin or simply dismissing them in toto “in exchange for a share of the Marcos wealth.”

While Abcede and his fellow commissioners in the PCGG may claim that such a move is the most pragmatic approach to finally end the two-decade search for the former dictator’s hidden wealth and lost “bullions,” such a compromise would also irredeemably harm the cause of justice and the victims who have suffered during the dark years of Martial Law.

It must be put in mind that the primary purpose of prosecuting the Marcoses is not simply to acquire their assets but to gain reparation for the damages that they have done to the country and the individual Filipinos and their families who were victimized by their wicked rule. This gains even more importance for us in the agrarian reform community since most of these victims were ordinary peasants and farm-workers who, for various reasons, earned the ire of the regime.

It is saddening to note that such a compromise would come from the very institution tasked to recover every centavo that Marcos and his henchmen stole from the Filipino people. Instead of exhausting all possible means that would place the Marcoses before the bar of justice in a manner that is transparent and open to all the major stakeholders, the PCGG has opted to abandon its mandate and take the option of the coward.

By so doing, the PCGG has practically exonerated the Marcoses, thus perpetuating the culture of corruption and social injustice that it is supposed to address.

BELINDA FORMANES
Convenor

Bantay Marcos Wealth At Coconut Levy
A Citizens’ Watch for the Judicious Use of Ill Gotten Marcos Wealth