Aug 092017
 

Former President Benigno Aquino III says a silent prayer in front of his parents’ grave at the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque, Tuesday. Family and friends commemorated the 8th death anniversary of Former President Corazon Aquino.(MNS photo)

MANILA, Aug 1 (Mabuhay) — Former President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday expressed apprehension over the proposed dissolution of the Presidential Commission on Good Government and the Commission on Human Rights.

The two government agencies were created during the term of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino, after the late strongman, Ferdinand Marcos was ousted from power.

Aquino said PCGG’s work, which was to run after the allegedly stolen wealth of the Marcos family, was not yet done.

“Sa PCGG, natapos na ba yung trabaho nila? Nung panahon ko, meron pa ring mga nare-recover, meron pa ring mga hinahabol na aminado, hindi pa rin tayo natatapos dahil sa totoo lang, hindi tayo sigurado kung may isang taong buhay na alam lahat itong lahat ng nire-recover na ito,” he said in an ambush interview at the Manila Memorial Park where a mass for his late mother was held. Corazon passed away Aug 1, 2009.

“Baka pag pinagsama-sama mo yung mga alam ng kung sino-sino, baka mabuo yan,” he added.

The CHR meanwhile remained necessary in an imperfect society, he said.

“Hindi pa natin masasabi na nasagad ng CHR yung dapat niyang trabaho at habang buhay ang tao at yung pangangailangan na pangalagaan yung karapatang pantao, pwede ba nating buwagin ang isang ahensya na siyang nangangalaga nito?,” he said.

“Hanggang hindi natin naaabot yung perpektong lipunan, sa tingin ko [ay] may pangangailangan sa isang Commission on Human Rights,” he added.

The Duterte administration earlier announced plans to abolish the PCGG, amid the resurrection of the political career of the Marcos family.

“They don’t do anything. What do they do?” Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said, referring to the PCGG.

President Rodrigo Duterte meanwhile threatened to abolish the CHR, which had reported alleged human rights abuses in his campaign against illegal drugs. (MNS)

Nov 292013
 
Justice done in Marcos confidante’s conviction: PHL

Beginning in 2009, Vilma Bautista and her two nephews allegedly began trying to sell the Monet water lily, “Le Bassin aux Nympheas,” (shown above) and three other valuable works that the Philippines government was trying to repossess. MANILA  (AFP) – The Philippines said Tuesday that justice was done in the conviction of a confidante of former first lady Imelda Marcos in New York for plotting to sell valuable looted artworks. The special anti-corruption agency tasked with tracing the wealth stolen by the Marcos family said it would now seek to recover the money and artworks confiscated from Vilma Bautista, a former New York-based social secretary of Imelda Marcos. “New York has seen justice done today,” the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) said, as it hailed the US prosecutors for recovering paintings that had been missing since the Marcos family fell from power in 1986. Imelda Marcos, 84, known for her extravagant lifestyle, is alleged to have looted millions from state coffers when her husband Ferdinand Marcos was president from 1965 to 1986. She used this wealth to acquire jewelry, art, real estate and a massive shoe collection. An army-backed popular revolt toppled President Marcos in 1986 and sent him and his family fleeing into exile. But much of their allegedly stolen wealth has not yet been recovered. The PCGG said it had provided key testimony and evidence that led to the conviction of Bautista for conspiring to sell three valuable artworks including a piece by French impressionist Claude Monet. Read More …

Nov 192013
 
Justice done in Imelda assistant's conviction for plot to sell looted art —PCGG

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) said Tuesday that justice was done in the conviction of a confidante of former first lady Imelda Marcos in New York for plotting to sell valuable looted artworks. The special anti-corruption agency tasked with tracing the wealth stolen by the Marcos family said it would now seek to recover the money and artworks confiscated from Vilma Bautista, a former New York-based social secretary of Imelda Marcos. “New York has seen justice done today,” the PCGG said, as it hailed the US prosecutors for recovering paintings that had been missing since the Marcos family fell from power in 1986. Imelda Marcos, 84, known for her extravagant lifestyle, is alleged to have looted millions from state coffers when her husband Ferdinand Marcos was president from 1965 to 1986. She used this wealth to acquire jewelry, art, real estate and a massive shoe collection. An army-backed popular revolt toppled President Marcos in 1986 and sent him and his family fleeing into exile. But much of their allegedly stolen wealth has not yet been recovered. The PCGG said it had provided key testimony and evidence that led to the conviction of Bautista for conspiring to sell three valuable artworks including a piece by French impressionist Claude Monet. New York authorities began their investigation in 2010 after learning of the suspicious sale of a Monet painting by Bautista and her nephews. They contacted the PCGG “as there appeared to have been other attempts by the defendants… to sell Read More …

Jun 032013
 
PCGG to testify in art theft case vs Imelda Marcos’ ex-aide in New York

By Dona Z. PazzibuganPhilippine Daily Inquirer 6:53 pm | Monday, June 3rd, 2013 PCGG Chairman Andres Bautista AFP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) will testify in the art theft and tax fraud case brought against former first lady Imelda Marcos’ former social secretary and confidante in New York. The PCGG was summoned by the State Supreme Court in Manhattan to testify when the trial of Vilma Bautista  starts on October 7. Ms. Bautista, 74, was arrested and arraigned last November 20 for trying to sell three valuable artworks, including a Monet masterpiece, which the Philippine government had reported to be part of the Marcos ill-gotten wealth that disappeared after the downfall of the Marcos regime in 1986. PCGG Chairman Andres Bautista, head of the agency tasked to go after the ill-gotten wealth of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, revealed the sending of a representative to testify in the trial. “For sure some people from the PCGG will testify in the trial, might be me,” Mr. Bautista said. “We have been assured by the NYDA (New York District Attorney) they believe these paintings rightfully belong to Filipino people,” Mr Bautista said. The PCGG has been cooperating with the NYDA investigation since mid-2011. “The position of the PCGG is these paintings are part and parcel of our missing paintings therefore should be returned to the Republic,” Mr. Bautista stressed. The New York District Attorney’s Office has charged Ms. Bautista and her nephews Chaiyot Jansen Navalaksana, Read More …

Apr 042013
 
If tasked, DOJ ready to look into Imee Marcos' offshore trust — De Lima

If ever she would be put to task, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday said she would look into a report that Ma. Imelda “Imee” Marcos is beneficiary of a secret offshore trust in the Carribean. “If it gets refered to us, it’s our duty to preliminary look into that. Kapag me positive finding, that’s the time to make a formal probe,” De Lima told reporters. However, she refused to further comment on the issue, saying: “Huwag niyo muna ako tanungin. Di ko pa nakita document. How can I comment? So lets see,” she said. Under Executive Order 643 issued in July 2007 by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Presidential Committee on Good Government was transferred under the DOJ from the Office of the President. The almost 27-year-old PCGG was created through Executive Order No. 1, the first edict that the late President Corazon Aquino signed shortly after the Marcos regime was toppled in 1986. According to a report of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Imee Marcos is one of the beneficiaries of the Sintra Trust, which financial records uncovered by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists show was formed in June 2002 in the British Virgin Islands. The PCIJ report said that apart from Marcos, other beneficiaries are her adult sons with estranged husband Tomas Manotoc: Ferdinand Richard Michael Marcos Manotoc, Matthew Joseph Marcos Manotoc, and Fernando Martin Marcos Manotoc. The PCIJ said that having offshore trust was “a primary way her father allegedly stashed away hidden wealth Read More …