Marcos ‘crony’ found to have cheated gov

An alleged Marcos crony has tricked the government into dropping charges against him by giving up properties he no longer owned, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) said.

PCGG Commissioner Ruben Carranza said Anos Fonacier surrendered the assets as part of a compromise agreement he forged with the agency in 1990.

But it turned out that Fonacier had disposed of the assets long before the settlement was signed during the term of PCGG chairman David Castro.

"Without probably checking…. (or) looking into the legal status of those properties, the cases against Fonacier were dismissed because of that agreement," Carranza said.

Fonacier used to own various hotels and other tourism establishments during the 20-year Marcos regime.

Under the agreement, Fonacier also ceded to the government his shares of stocks in 20 corporations.

The PCGG learned about the status of Fonacier’s assets only recently while reviewing the agreements the agency has entered into in the past 15 years.

PCGG chairperson Haydee Yorac said the PCGG has forged 37 agreements with the cronies of the Marcoses since 1986.

"But I understand that there are a number of these deals which have not been faithfully implemented," she said.

These deals involved the following: Roberto Abling, Alejandro Simon, Maximino Argana, Baltazar Aquino, Roberto Benedicto, Jose Bengzon, Jose Campos, Oscar Carino, Rodolfo Cuenca, Jose Armando Eduque,

Panlilio Enrique, Raymundo Feliciano, Gerardo Flores, Anos Fonacier, Antonio Floirendo, Alejo Gamut Jr., Rolando Gapud, Potenciano Ilusorio, Jaime Laya, Anthony Lee,

Placido Mapa Jr., Antonio Martel Jr., Ricardo Quintos, Enrique Razon Jr., Gabriel Singson, Evelyn Singson, Jesus Tanchangco, Bennet Thelmo, Jesus Vergara, Lorenzo Vergara, Vicente Campa Jr. and Ramon Monson.

Yorac said the PCGG intends to review contracts which are worth enforcing. "But we will annul the contracts where there was misrepresentation of properties," she said.

The PCGG plans to file criminal cases like estafa against those who made such a misrepresentation.

Yorac gave assurance that the PCGG will not be pressured even if some of these alleged Marcos cronies are now part of the present administration.

"It’s not going to affect, in any way, our action because a civil obligation is a civil obligation and a criminal liability is a criminal liability. It is important to send forth the message that no one is above the law," she said.