Recently, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has been receiving favorable decisions in cases which have been pending in various courts for decades, among which are the Arelma case involving $45M forfeited in favor of the government, the Alfonso Lim case where Marcos cronies were proven to have abused their logging concessions and the ruling adverse to Fe Roa Gimenez, who was a close aid of the First Lady.

Noticeably, in previous interviews, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. has claimed non-involvement in the cases filed by the government against him and his family. However, this is belied by court records which show his involvement, where in some, he is even the signatory of the verification and certification portions, effectively the part of the pleadings where the complainant or defendant claims the veracity of what is being filed in court and swears to the truth of his statement before a notary.

In fact, the Marcos family has been active in appealing to the Supreme Court various decisions which were ruled against them.

It would be untrue to claim that his family has stopped participating in said court cases. For instance, in the Sandiganbayan decision in the case of Arelma promulgated on 2 April 2009, forfeiting in favor of the Republic Arelma funds, now valued at around $42 million, Senator Marcos and his mother, hastily filed two (2) separate petitions before the Supreme Court. Instances such as these debunk the Senator’s continuous denial of his knowledge of the actions being undertaken by his lawyers.

Likewise, on 13 January 2014, when the Sandiganbayan promulgated a Partial Summary Judgment declaring the Malacañang Jewelry Collection as ill-gotten and forfeited the same in favor of the Republic, the Marcoses filed several motions for the reconsiderations to the decision. Upon denial of the motions, they elevated the case to the Supreme Court.

Similarly, on 29 September 2014, when the Sandiganbayan issued a Writ of Attachment against the million-dollar paintings that were still in the possession of the Marcoses and which form part of their ill-gotten wealth, the Marcoses immediately filed separate motions againts the writ. Upon denial, the Marcoses elevated the matter to the Supreme Court through a Petition for Certiorari in 2015.

Chairman Richard T. Amurao stated that across several cases filed against the Marcoses, it appears that the family is still well represented and that these cases are being actively litigated by their counsel. Despite facing high caliber lawyers from the Marcos end, Amurao said that the PCGG, together with the Office of the Solicitor General, the people’s tribunal which has represented PCGG in its fight against corruption, will continue to perform its mandate, so that any ill-gotten wealth shall be returned to where it properly belongs, the government coffers.

Chairman Amurao further noted that indeed, even after decades, through PCGG’s continued perseverance, step by step, favourable decisions resolving ill-gotten wealth cases are being recently promulgated by the Higher Court and the Sandiganbayan, an affirmation that indeed, wrongdoings will be rectified if the government does not falter in performing its mandate.