EDITORIAL - Tokenism

If the Marcos family wanted to return the billions they are believed to have amassed in mysterious ways during the 20 years in power of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, they would have already done so.

They can start by turning over to the government the priceless paintings of the Old Masters – artwork that only the likes of Bill Gates, the Sultan of Brunei and museums with rich endowments can afford. Instead Imelda Marcos is holding on to the paintings, filing legal challenges without explaining how a senator-turned-president and his wife who reportedly used to sleep in the garage of her uncle’s home managed to acquire paintings by Michelangelo, Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh. Not to mention the king’s ransom in jewelry that the government has managed to seize.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government is going after 156 paintings in the Marcoses’ possession that include works by Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin and Joan Miro. Andres Bautista, when he was PCGG commissioner, said that in a ruling in 2003, the Supreme Court had estimated the legitimate wealth of the Marcoses at only $304,000; anything beyond that is subject to seizure by the government.

Filipinos can only hope that if the Marcoses turn over wealth to the Filipino people, it won’t be just $304,000 and a token gold bar or two, with the family getting to keep everything else. This would be like China giving the Philippines two bridges and a few other crumbs in exchange for the West Philippine Sea and its islands and sand bars.

The other day, President Duterte, citing an unnamed Marcos spokesman, disclosed that the family had agreed to “open everything” and return accumulated wealth. Apart from the fact that this could constitute an admission that the wealth was illegally amassed, there is the inevitable question of what the Marcoses might get in return.

The PCGG places the family’s ill-gotten wealth at $10 billion. This includes the deposits in Swiss banks that now amount to $658 million with interest, which the Swiss government had turned over to the Philippines after the funds were legally declared by both countries to be ill-gotten. The curious thing about this is that the account holders remain unpunished.

Anyone responsible for this scale of thievery should be locked up with the key thrown away. Instead, with a token gesture, it looks like those who amassed a mind-boggling amount of ill-gotten wealth might get away permanently with their crime. Ferdinand Marcos, now happily resting in peace in the cemetery for heroes, must be laughing in his grave.