Palace insists Congress' nod for proposed return of Marcos wealth

MANILA, Philippines — A compromise between the government and the Marcoses would require the approval of Congress but such law may face challenges if it singles out the former first family, Malacañang said Tuesday.

 

"The President has spoken. He said if there are (Marcos) properties that can be used to support the country, a law is needed. It is clear to the President that the decision does not rest on him alone. It is also a decision to be made by Congress because we have a law that punishes those who are guilty of plunder," Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in an interview with radio station dzBB. 

 

"Such law will be facing a lot of challenges and a law solely about the Marcoses cannot be passed. It will violate what we call the equal protection law. But the President has said any agreement between the government and the Marcoses would require a law," he added. 

 

Roque reiterated that the government has not struck a deal with the former dictator's family. 

 

On Sunday, documents containing a proposed compromise deal between the government and the Marcoses circulated online, drawing flak from critics who believe that the Duterte administration is trying to revise history.

 

The document, which was drafted by the Lozano & Lozano-Endriano Law Office, was suggesting the creation of a legal team that would look into the government's compromise agreement with the Marcoses. The document contained an acknowledgment letter signed by Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo. 

 

Panelo has clarified that his office acknowledges receipt of any letter coming from any citizen "as a matter of courtesy and policy." He stressed that Malacañang has not acted on the proposal. 

 

In a letter to President Rodrigo Duterte and coursed through Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre last September 19, Oliver Lozano, a Marcos loyalist, cited the need for an "appropriate action" on the alternatives regarding the compromise. The alternatives cited were compromise without congressional approval, compromise with optional congressional approval, and acceptance of donation from the Marcos family. 

 

The letter was sent a month after Duterte disclosed that the Marcos family has expressed readiness to return wealth accumulated during the 20-year presidency of former president Ferdinand Marcos.

 

Lozano said Duterte has to act on any of the alternatives to "promptly give unifying social justice for all through massive economic development and world-class rehabilitation as well as enable the government to pay its foreign and local debts leading to political liberation, economic emancipation and social concord." 

 

Also in the document is a draft executive order lifting the EO that called for the sequestering of the Marcos wealth. Lozano also attached a draft House bill granting immunity to the Marcoses and allowing a compromise on their sequestered assets. 

 

"When the news broke out, we were surprised. When we searched the internet, we found out that it was an offer submitted by Atty. Oliver Lozano. Anyone can submit an offer to Malacañang," Roque said. 

 

"There is no agreement. We do not know if it was sanctioned by the Marcoses," he added.