EDITORIAL – Plunder without a plunderer

The Presidential Commission on Good Government was not meant to be a permanent office. Every PCGG management team, however, moved to prolong the life of the agency, which was principally tasked to go after wealth illegally amassed during the Marcos dictatorship.

This pursuit of dirty money has already earned global notoriety for identifying and recovering billions officially declared as ill-gotten assets but failing to put any perpetrator or beneficiary behind bars.

With help from the Swiss government, the Philippines recovered nearly $700 million deposited in Swiss banks together with interest. To this day, however, no key player during the dictatorship has been convicted in connection with that mind-boggling illegal wealth. Dictator Ferdinand Marcos is now interred in the heroes’ cemetery. His only son and namesake is busy claiming the vice presidency.

The staggering jewelry collection of Marcos’ widow Imelda is on public display and she continues to hold on to art masterpieces that no person could have honestly afforded on a Philippine president’s salary. Yet she remains a member of Congress, enjoying all the perks courtesy of Filipino taxpayers.

How can there be plunder on such a colossal scale but no plunderer? With this failure of the PCGG, previous administrations had planned to abolish the commission and turn over its task to the Office of the Solicitor General, presumably to focus on prosecution. Now that the plan has finally pushed through, however, doubts have been raised over the political will to prosecute the Marcoses or their cronies, as Solicitor General Jose Calida is seen to have a soft spot for the family.

Yesterday, a large crowd of human rights victims during the Marcos dictatorship waited in line at the Commission on Human Rights main office to receive court-ordered compensation for their suffering. While the amount for every individual is modest, it shows that compensation is possible. Now if only the perpetrator could be found. The PCGG is turning over its functions to the OSG with an atrocious crime against public trust already established. Can the OSG pin down any criminal?