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Sandiganbayan dismisses Marcos forfeiture case involving hotels, resorts

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Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Sandiganbayan 2nd Division has dismissed Civil Case No. 0014 filed by plantiff Republic of the Philippines versus former president Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. and former first lady Imelda Marcos, as well as their alleged cronies.In the decision of the court promulgated on June 27, 2023, the complaint filed by the plaintiff, represented by the Presidential Commission on Good Government through the Office of the Solicitor General, was dismissed for its failure to prove its allegations by preponderance of evidence.The court noted that writs of sequestration issued by the PCGG against the properties do not, by themselves, prove that the properties are ill-gotten.“Nothing on the face of these documents shows that defendants Ferdinand E. Marcos and Imelda R. Marcos had any interest or control over the subject corporations,” the court said in the decision penned by Associate Justice Arthur Malabaguio, with the concurrence of Division Chairperson Oscar Herrera and Associate Justice Edgardo Caldona.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/26/23/ill-gotten-wealth-case-vs-alfredo-romualdez-junked">Sandiganbayan junks ill-gotten wealth case vs. Imelda Marcos&#x27; brother</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/16/23/sandiganbayan-rejects-additional-witness-in-marcos-ill-gotten-wealth-case">Sandiganbayan rejects presentation of addt&#x27;l witness in Marcos ill-gotten wealth case</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/13/23/coa-pcgg-building-disposed-last-year-for-p800-million">COA: PCGG building &#x27;disposed&#x27; last year for P800 million</a></li></ul>Civil Case No. 0014 was filed on July 22, 1987 for the forfeiture and reconveyance of assets and properties owned by alleged dummies of the former president and first lady, including impleaded corporations such as Philippine Village Hotel, Puerto Azul Beach and Country Club, Ternate Development Corporation, Fantasia Filipina Resorts, Inc. Ocean Villas Condominium Corporation, Silahis International Hotel.With the death of main defendants Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. Modesto and Trinidad Enriquez, and Rebecco Panlilio, they were substituted by their heirs in the case, including President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., Ma. Imelda Marcos-Manotoc and Irene Marcos-Araneta.In 2009, the PCGG estimated the subject properties in Civil Case No. 0014 with a total amount of P581 million.The court noted in its decision that to prove the illegal acquisition of the defendants of the properties, plaintiff relied on the affidavit of a single witness, PCGG records custodian Maria Lourdes Magno.The court also noted that Magno had no participation in the preparation of the exhibits, was not a signatory and had no personal knowledge of the veracity of the contents of the documents.“Guided by these precepts, witness Magno’s testimony falls within the category of hearsay evidence,” the court said.Aside from the writs of sequestration, other documents presented by the plaintiff were photocopies of transfer certificates of title, photocopies of letters by Panlilio to former PCGG chairman Jovito Salonga, photocopies of deeds of sale.The court stressed that Magno’s testimony did not bolster plaintiff’s allegations to any degree.“This is fatal to plaintiff’s cause,” the court said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/25/23/pcgg-marcos-hawaii-malacanang-jewelry-collection-pegged-at-p340m">PCGG: Marcos Hawaii and Malacanang jewelry collection pegged at P340 million</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/01/22/marcoses-skip-final-hearing-on-ill-gotten-wealth-case">Marcoses no-show in final hearing on ill-gotten wealth case</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2698514" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The court noted that writs of sequestration issued by the PCGG against the properties do not, by themselves, prove that the properties are ill-gotten.

Sandiganbayan dismisses Marcos forfeiture case involving hotels, resorts

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Sandiganbayan dismisses Marcos forfeiture case involving hotels, resorts

Adrian Ayalin,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 28, 2023 02:54 PM PHT

Read More:

Sandiganbayan

Marcos

Marcoses

Marcos ill-gotten wealth

Marcos ill-gotten wealth case

Marcos forfeiture case

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