It is disappointing, not to mention frustrating, that after so many years going after the Marcos ill-gotten wealth, the Supreme Court comes out with a decision like this. The high court dismissed the cases against the Marcoses, as it upheld the 2010 Sandiganbayan’s dismissal of the same, due to lack of evidence presented by the prosecution, in this case, the Philippine Commission on Good Government. The Sandiganbayan ruled that the documents presented by the PCGG were mere photocopies. The originals should have been presented. So all because of a technicality, all those years have gone down the proverbial drain. It is frustrating because if the prosecution had photocopies, then surely the originals were in their possession as well, or at the least, accessible. I am no lawyer, but why the originals were not presented in a case like this is beyond me.
The times seem to favor the Marcos Family. The Supreme Court also allowed Ferdinand Marcos’ body to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, much to the dismay of anyone who has felt what it was like under his dictatorial rule. And now, the ill-gotten wealth cases were dismissed by practically the same Supreme Court. The road back to power has practically been laid out for them. It is no secret that President Duterte is close to the Marcos Family, even showing admiration for the late strongman. Do we expect another favorable decision going their way?
On another note, former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is facing multiple counts of corruption and other crimes in connection with the 1MDB scandal. According to authorities, more than three hundred million dollars’ worth of items were seized from the former prime minister’s residences. It took three days to count the cash in 35 bags, all in different currencies. Twenty-five boxes contained assorted expensive jewelry, including 1,400 necklaces, 2,200 rings, 2,800 pairs of earrings, and 14 tiaras, 567 luxury handbags, and 423 luxury watches. I wonder how many pairs of shoes Rosmah Mansor had? We’re not even mentioning the houses and cars. Razak denies all accusations. Well, good luck explaining how all these were acquired.
I guess greed knows no bounds, once initiated. I can’t imagine what one would do with thousands of pieces of jewelry. The most expensive bag confiscated was worth almost $400,000. I was just in disbelief reading the news. If Najib Razak did not lose the election, would they continue to amass wealth stolen from their country’s coffers? I just couldn’t help but make a comparison. Perhaps the legal system in Malaysia is more circumspect?