Marcoses break away from Estrada

After waltzing with the Estrada administration for two and a half years, the Marcos and Romualdez clans cut their ties with President Estrada yesterday for the perceived insult against the memory of strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

But while Representatives Imee Marcos of Ilocos Norte and her cousin Alfred Romualdez of Leyte announced their families’ withdrawal of support for Mr. Estrada, Ilocos Norte Gov. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is apparently still trying to heal the rift between his family and the Chief Executive.

Marcos Jr. rushed to Manila yesterday to "consult with all loyalist groups."

Sources, on the other hand, said that the governor wanted to meet with Palace officials to clarify his family’s official stand.

"I am not talking to them," said Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora, who was designated earlier by Mr. Estrada to negotiate with the Marcoses regarding the family’s ill-gotten wealth.

"They have already expressed their disgruntlement about how the cases in the Sandiganbayan proceeded," Zamora added.

As this developed, members of the left-leaning labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said they will welcome any Marcos loyalist to their fold.

"Never mind that their reasons are off mark. Support is still support, however indirect, for the ouster of Mr. Estrada," said KMU chairman Crispin Beltran.

Imee Marcos told a press conference that while the Marcos family would continue to support the institution of the "presidency" as well as the constitutional process, "we will not be – the Marcoses and all those who helped us – be used by anyone or by any party."

"We are not the problem, and we will not be the alibi," she said.

Mr. Estrada told reporters that he was unaware of the congresswoman’s pronouncement, saying "I have no comment on that."

A spokeswoman for former First Lady Imelda Marcos said earlier that the Marcos family and their supporters were "hurt" by Mr. Estrada’s reference to the late president as a "dictator" when disavowing an alleged government plot to crack down on street protests.

"He has been saying that he is not like Marcos, that he is not a dictator and a thief. Marcos was not a dictator and not a thief. How dare he say that," said Cherry Cobarrubias, spokeswoman for Mrs. Marcos who is also president of the Marcos Loyalist Foundation National Headquarters.

She said that only former President Corazon Aquino and her followers called the late president a thief.

"But President Estrada is being labeled a thief by his own best friend," she said.

Cobarrubias was referring to Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, a former presidential gambling and drinking buddy who accused the President of receiving more than P500 million in illegal gambling money and tobacco tax kickback.

A source from the Marcos camp said the loyalists are planning to hold rallies nationwide to protest not the jueteng bribery scandal but Mr. Estrada’s labeling Marcos a dictator.

"Marcos never had juetengate. There were no mistresses and mansions, no shady characters around the presidency," the source said.

Mr. Estrada has faced mounting protests calling for his resignation. He is to go on trial for corruption in the Senate next month which could lead to his premature removal from office.

Imee Marcos acknowledged the "hurt" that her late father’s supporters felt "at the relentless insults heaped upon my father’s name. There is no doubt that their plaint is not only authentic. It is both resonant and passionate, an issue which is a grave concern for them as it is for us."

She said "neither can there be any question that we owe our positions of power and authority today" only "to those who hold the memory of my father in their hearts. And there can be no doubt that we shall heed the counsel of our people."

The Marcos family "does not owe any debt of gratitude to any politician, any party, any administration but only to our friends and loyalists."

The congresswoman, who faced the press beside Rep. Romualdez, said the family was "scandalized" by the rampant political opportunism displayed by the opposition and their recent cohorts, following mass defections from the ruling Lapian ng Masang Pilipino party.

Press Secretary Ricardo Puno said that the President "was just making general references" when he spoke about not planning to use any dictatorial methods against dissent.

"This was a mere misunderstanding," Puno told reporters, adding that "some people have already made explanations to Mrs. Marcos, the children, and all of that. He (Mr. Estrada) did not mean to refer to President Marcos as a dictator."

Mr. Estrada is a close friend of the former first lady. Just 12 days ago, the President visited the Marcos bailiwick in Ilocos Norte to speak at a huge rally organized by Gov. Marcos.

Swiss High Court rejects appeal

Switzerland’s highest court rejected yesterday an appeal by a former Philippine coconut industry official and associate of the late dictator against the handover of bank documents to Manila.

The Federal Tribunal did not identify the official, who was board member of the Philippine Coconut Authority from 1975 to 1985. Swiss officials urged Manila to speed up investigations in the case.

The ruling brings a step closer the conclusion of 14 years of legal wrangling over money deposited in Switzerland by Marcos and his associates.

Philippine investigators said the coconut official established a monopoly over the industry with Marcos’ help and alleged that he siphoned off part of the proceeds from an official coconut levy.

The coconut levy fund was built up from taxes collected by the Marcos government. From 1973 to 1982, the government collected about P60 pesos for every 100 kilos of copra produced by each coconut farmer. The levy was supposed to finance coconut industry development programs.

The money was paid into the Zurich branch of a Liechtenstein-based foundation. The account now holds some $12 million.

Marcos was ousted in a popular revolt in 1986, and died in exile in Hawaii three years later. Succeeding governments have accused him of illegally amassing billions of dollars of wealth during his 20-year rule.

In 1997, the Federal Tribunal ordered the transfer of the Marcos money to Manila, ruling that it was against Swiss interests "to serve as a safe haven" for flight capital or criminal proceeds.

But individual cases involving associates of Marcos are still pending, with some $34 million frozen in Swiss bank accounts.

An escrow account in the Philippines into which the main Marcos assets were transferred now holds some $632 million.

GMA: No calls for civil disobedience

Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo clarified that the united opposition has not made any calls for civil disobedience to oust Mr. Estrada.

"Those are premature pronouncements," she said, referring to reports that she herself would be spearheading such protest actions next week.

"What we have now so far is within the Constitution and we are still pursuing legal means" to remove the President, Arroyo added.

Next week’s rallies, including overnight vigils near Malacañang, will be participated in by militant groups.

This was confirmed by Jose Ma. Sison, the self-exiled leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

He told a radio interview that militant organizations like the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan would muster a million people "to surround Malacañang and force the resignation of President Estrada."

Sison also said that the New People’s Army will stage tactical offensives while the police and military focus their attention on the mass demonstrations.

Meanwhile, the KMU claimed that many members of the El Shaddai Catholic Charismatic Movement and the Iglesia Ni Cristo will be joining the anti-Estrada rally next week.

In other developments yesterday, a group of farmers urged the government to investigate former President Corazon Aquino for her alleged refusal to put her family’s sprawling property under the agrarian reform program.

"Mrs. Aquino and her family should be investigated for possible violations of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, especially those that concern the Stock Distribution Option," said Eddie Ibabao, one of the leaders of the Pambansang Ugnayan ng mga Lokal na Nagsasariling Organisasyon ng mga Mamamayan sa Kanayunan.

He said the stock distribution option does not actually give a security of tenure to farmers.

"If she is found guilty, the sugar estate must be redistributed to farm workers without delay," he said. – With Teddy Molina, Marichu Villanueva, Jose Rodel Clapano, Mayen Jaymalin, Edith Regalado