Ferdinand Marcos : Greatest Thief of all Time?

It’s not just about giving money to Marcos victims’

2012-11-17T03:44:00.003-08:00

VIENTIANE, Laos—The compensation bill for victims of human rights abuses during the martial law regime is not just about money but also acknowledges lapses in protecting Filipinos, President Benigno Aquino III told reporters after a meeting on Monday with Swiss President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

Part of the compensation will come from $540 million in Swiss deposits of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, which have been transferred to the Philippine government.

Mr. Aquino told reporters in a press briefing that he assured the Swiss president he would fast-track the passage of the bill and would talk to leaders of Congress, particularly Sen. Francis Escudero, chair of the Senate justice committee.

The two leaders met on Monday on the sidelines of the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit, which is ending on Wednesday.

The House of Representatives passed the bill earlier this year, but the measure has yet to gain traction in the Senate.

Under the bill, compensation for victims of martial law abuses would come from the illegally acquired assets previously deposited by the Marcoses in Swiss banks.

But legislation has to be passed before the money could be released to the martial law victims.

“This is personal not in the sense of the monetary aspect. We need to be clear in our history books that we had a period like that, when the government put up by the people was used to curtail their rights,” Mr. Aquino said.

“There must be a formality for future generations that we had an aberrant period, that there was a nightmare that happened to the Filipino nation, without a doubt, and clearly so that we can be sure that this would not happen again in the future,” he said.

But Mr. Aquino also noted that the Marcoses remained in government. There are certain quarters, he said, who would fight the bill and insist that no human rights abuses had taken place during the Marcos regime.

Aquino vows to compensate victims of Marcos atrocities

2012-11-17T03:42:00.002-08:00

Manila: Philippine President Benigno Aquino vowed to push for the passage of a law that will allow the Philippine government to fully compensate 10,000 rights victims from the $680 million (Dh2.49 billion) that the Swiss government had turned over to former President Corazon Aquino as ill-gotten wealth of the former Philippines strongman Ferdinand Marcos in 1997.

“The President said the [Philippine] government will do what is needed in getting the compensation bill approved [by Congress] and [so that the amount would be] paid out to its beneficiaries [who were victims of the Martial Law rule],” Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications and Operations Office (PCOO) told reporters in Laos, the transcript of which reached PCOO’s Manila office.

Aquino gave this assurance when he met Swiss President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf at the sidelines of the 9th Asia Europe Meeting in Laos, said Coloma.

The Marcos funds from Switzerland were held in escrow at the Philippine National Bank (PNB) after the Swiss government turned it over to the government.

Aquino “promised to do what’s needed to complete the compensation process and compensation to the [martial law] victims by clearing the administrative and procedural hurdles [that have prevented the compensation of Martial Law victims who won a $ 2.2 billion in damages from a US Federal Court in 1995],” Coloma explained.

Aquino identifies with the martial law victims and members of their families because his own father, former Senator Benigno Aquino Jr, a political rival of Marcos, was arrested and imprisoned for several years when the martial law rule was enforced in 1972, said Coloma.

The older Aquino’s assassination, by paramilitary escorts, in 1983 resulted in a strong anti-Marcos sentiment that was capped by a people-backed military mutiny which paved the way for the exit of the strongman, and the ascendance of Mrs Corazon Aquino to the presidency in 1986.

When the Swiss Federal Supreme Court turned over the money to the government in 1997, it demanded that the Philippine government must comply with two conditions — a final and executory decision of the Supreme Court declaring the said funds as ill-gotten; that the martial law victims must be given their share — in a law passed by Congress — to implement a class suit they won in Honolulu Court against the Marcos estate.

In 2003, the Philippine Supreme Court declared that the recovered Swiss funds were Marcos ill-gotten wealth.

Since then, however, the Human Rights Compensations Bill, has remained pending at the two houses of Congress.

The bill calls for the amendment of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law which was passed in 1987, which has called that recovered wealth of the Marcoses must go to the funding of the government’s agrarian reform programme.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), a government-run agency established in 1987, earlier said the Marcoses stashed an estimated $35 billion, excluding $5 billion worth of gold bullions, that were amassed while in power from 1965 to 1986.

Marcos died in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1989, three years after his overthrow in 1986.

Ferdinand Marcos : Greatest Thief of all Time?: Marcos chronology of Plunder

2011-11-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

Ferdinand Marcos : Greatest Thief of all Time?: Marcos chronology of Plunder

10 Questions: Imelda Marcos

2011-10-16T03:47:00.001-07:00

10 Questions: Imelda Marcos

By NELLY SINDAYEN the time

Since her husband, philippine strongman ferdinand marcos, died in exile in Honolulu in 1989, Imelda Marcos has seldom been out of the news, mostly because of the Philippine government's 20-year pursuit of what it considers the Marcos family's ill-gotten gains, rumored to amount to billions. Marcos talked with TIME's Nelly Sindayen about money, her encounters with world leaders, and�what else?�her shoes.

You're said to be one of the world's richest people. Just how rich are you?
If you know how rich you are, my dear, then you're not really rich. Frankly, I don't want to put numbers [out there], I don't want to attract any more lawsuits. The vultures want a piece of the Marcos meat, watching every figure mentioned.

How did your husband become so wealthy?
Ferdinand was a gold trader. He was a lawyer for mining companies. When he entered politics in l949, he had tons and tons of gold. When Bill Gates was a college dropout, Ferdinand already possessed billions of dollars and tons of gold. It wasn't stolen.

Why do you sometimes say you're poor?
I am poor not in material things but in the truth. I've been called a thief�the biggest ever ... The problem with First Ladies is that you have to set the standard. I had to wear jewelry then, but all that was taken away, confiscated by the government. They think they have taken everything away from me, including my shoes. But actually that's my biggest defense: when they opened my closet, they found shoes instead of skeletons. They've listed my name in the dictionary�"Imeldific" is used to mean ostentatious extravagance ... But the truth will prevail. At [77], I am still standing, still fighting the superpowers.

Speaking of superpowers, the U.S. filed racketeering charges against you in 1988. You were acquitted, but not before you had to post $5 million bail.
The first one to come to my rescue was [Muammar] Gaddafi, who said he was willing to post bail for me even if it were 10 times higher. Even Saddam Hussein sent his foreign minister to ask if there was anything I needed.

Many notorious leaders have been kind to you.
[Fidel] Castro too. When I visited Cuba, he drove for me. He told me he had driven for only two people in his life�his mother and me ... At the height of the cold war, I visited China. When I saw Chairman Mao, I kissed his hand so he kissed my hand. "I like you," the Chairman said. "You're very beautiful, and childlike."

You negotiated with Gaddafi to stop Libya's backing for the separatist Moro National Liberation Front in Mindanao.
Gaddafi said to me: You're a good woman, why don't you become a Muslim? I said I didn't know Islam. He said Islam is kind, so I said, then don't let Mindanao separate from the Philippines. He said Islam is generous, so I said, then give us oil at a low, friendship price. I ended up getting eight concessions, including cheap oil.

Do you have a message for President Bush?
My advice to him is: do a Ferdinand in handling power. Ferdinand once told me, "Imelda, power is not used, it is felt."

But Bush has to face threats like Osama bin Laden.
I beg Osama to stop warring. He is a Muslim, and Islam means peace. Nobody wins in a war ... I wish I were tapped in the problem about Iraq. I knew Saddam enough that I could have talked him into surrendering. But it's too late.

What will you do next?
I will come up with a project that will wipe out poverty in the Philippines in two years. I want to remove the people from economic crisis by using the Marcos wealth. Long after I'm gone, people will remember me for building them homes and roads and hospitals and giving them food. The people should stop laughing at all this. They should stop thinking that I'm a bit touched in the head.

You're as controversial as ever.
Being controversial is being whole. It's yin and yang. I used to be yin when Marcos was still alive, and he was the yang. Now I am both yin and yang.

PCGG chief: Imelda placed Marcos wealth at $1 trillion

2011-10-16T03:38:00.000-07:00

By Tarra Quismundo Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 20:42:00 05/03/2010 Filed Under: Elections, Politics, Graft & Corruption MANILA, Philippines -- It's the kind of fantastic wealth that could run the Philippines for almost 40 years or pay off its foreign debt 18 times. While dodging criticism for ?exploring? a settlement with the family of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) Commissioner Ricardo Abcede claimed on Monday that the dictator's widow Imelda confessed to keeping $1 trillion in an account in New York. Abcede said this twice in interviews over ABS-CBN's dzMM radio and ANC on Monday, as he defended his decision to pursue a settlement with the Marcoses to recover some P140 billion in ill-gotten wealth, instead of giving due course to more than 500 court cases against the Marcoses and cronies. Imelda Marcos, now running for Congress in the family's native Ilocos Norte, allegedly shared this over dinner with Abcede. ?How much really is their wealth? During our dinner, I said ?Ma?am this is what the people are asking.? "Without blinking...," she told me, ?Commissioner Abcede, in Citibank New York alone, the Marcoses have $1 trillion,? Abcede told ANC news anchor Tony Velasquez in a live interview. ?Now do we believe her or not? I don't know. Because on the one hand, she's saying she just depends on the charity of others, but here, it's fabulous wealth,? said Abcede. The Philippine Daily Inquirer tried to call Abcede several times on Monday, but the commissioner could not be reached. Marcos' children Bongbong and Imee also could not be reached by phone. Lawyer Frank Chavez, solicitor general at the time the PCGG was created during the Aquino administration, however said such figure was just imagination. ?It exists only in her (Imelda Marcos') mind,? said Chavez. He said the ill-gotten Marcos wealth could not have reached a trillion dollars as their last estimate in December 1991 placed the total Marcos assets at $10 billion kept in several Swiss accounts. This amount could have doubled overtime through interest. The Marcoses still face criminal and civil cases for allegedly amassing wealth through stealing from the country's coffers until the dictator was ousted through a peaceful revolt in 1986. In response to a petition Chavez filed, the Supreme Court had nullified a 1993 secret deal where the PCGG agreed to drop cases and grant tax exemption to the Marcoses given a 75-25 split of the family's Swiss deposits. Abcede again justified his move to arrange a settlement saying ?this will be good for the country and for our people.? He said a deal would lead to ?less anxiety, no sleepless nights.? ?If revenge is in your heart, nothing will happen. You have to move on,? he told ANC. He scoffed at reports calling talks with the Marcos side a ?midnight deal? as he clarified that reaching a settlement would take a long process and discussed at several levels: the commission en banc, the Office of the Solicitor General, the Department of Justice and then the Office of the President. Chavez said equating the pursuit of cases against the Marcoses to revenge was a twisted way of looking at litigation. ?It is a distorted way of looking at it. He has thrown [the mission of the PCGG] to the dustbin. This is a betrayal of the raison d'etre of the the PCGG. Litigation is not about revenge. It is about justice,? he said. Abcede also cleared President Macapagal Arroyo of any role in his actions, saying seeking settlements was part of the PCGG's mandate. He explained that the PCGG had the ?duty to find ways of settling cases instead of pursuing them in court.? ?I don't need her (Ms Arroyo's) sanction. Nakikipagkwentuhan lang naman ako eh. Aabalahin ko pa ba si Presidente (I just swap stories. Do I need to bother the President)?,? he said. Abcede earlier expressed confidence that a deal could be reached before the end of Ms Arroyo's presidency, also the end of his stay at the PCGG, or during the term of the next President. But because ?hope springs eternal? for Abcede, he believes this could still happen by some miracle. ?On my own I can't [do this]. Well, unless a miracle happens. If the Marcoses suddenly say ?we are willing to donate all of our wealth maybe here or outside [of the country] for the good of the Filipino people,?? he said. But for Chavez, the PCGG Commissioner has to get reacquainted with what the commission was meant to do. ?He does not know what they?re talking about. He's the one seeking them (Marcoses) out. Where is the integrity in that? It seems like the PCGG was already captured by the Marcoses,? he said.

FERDINAND MARCOS 100BILLION DOLLAR GOLD CONTRACT

2011-10-09T03:17:00.000-07:00

APPENDIX 6.13

Reproduced below is chapter 31 in its entirety extracted from the Marcos Legacy Revisited subtitled: Raiders of the Lost Gold, by Erick A. San Juan, published in 1998 in Makati City, Philippines. My thanks to "Dirk" for providing this.

Of interest is the sloppy prose style and typographical errors that closely correspond to the "mistakes" contained on all of Peter Johnston's gold bullion certificates - perhaps indicating that this, also, was written with "deniability" in mind?

CHAPTER 31

The Trilateral Commission's Aborted Deal with FM

The aborted deal of the CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL with the late Pres. Ferdinand Marcos (better known as the Trilateral Commission) involved an agreement in which the president was promised power for life and a guarantee of an Investment Loan to be coursed through a Mini-Marshall plan to save the failing Philippine economy. All these in exchange for his gold bullion.

The original document showing specifically how much gold Marcos kept at Fort Knox was given to me by an emissary of President Marcos which I handed, in trust, to Reynaldo Fajardo, who was supposed to write a book on this. This was the very same document brought by Ambassador Philip Habib to Manila in February 1986 for Marcos' signature. Marcos, however, didn't sign the document because THE CORPORATION wanted the gold bullion for themselves alone and merely offered to give him an investment loan in exchange. Soon after, through Cardinal Jaime Sin's call for people support, and armed with "Plan C," employing the Marxist principle "Religion is the opium of society." EDSA People Power came to the fore. This marked the beginning of Marcos' downfall.

A photocopy of these records was passed on to me by my friend, Col. Adex Villalon (RES). Had Marcos known of an impending conflict between the Philippine Government and his family, he could have immediately signed Habib's document and could have lived happily ever after.

The following is the text of the Trilateral Commission's communique with the late president Ferdinand Marcos under the letterhead, THE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL, brought by then U.S. Ambassador Philip Habib for F.M.'s approval and subsequent signature. The deal turned sour because the CORPORATION wanted to get everything, simply leaving Marcos a so-called investment loan out of his total gold hoard. On my visits to Hawaii, Marcos made it clear to me that he did not sign the document because, in his own words "para akong pinirito sa sarili kong mantika" (I would have been fried in my own lard). He further added that he had all those years, invested so much of his time, expertise, strategies, and a lot of guts, just to safeguard all the wealth which he intended to offer his countrymen's future and that of our children's children. This was also the reason why he was forced to leave Malacanang to regroup in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, but instead, he claimed to have been kidnapped, taken by force and against his will by the Americans and flown to Hawaii.

NOTE: The photocopy clearly displayed the entire logo of THE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL, with the words "CLOAKED WITH SECRECY" stamped on every page, together with the following details on each page's right-hand margin:

FIFTH AVENUE AT 55TH STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10022
212 753 4500

LANCASTERGATE - HYDEPARK - LONDONW23NZ
Telephone: 61-2525090 Telex: 291655 Prestel 3441100

WEINSERGSTRASSE 45, CH-8008 ZURICH

The Corporation International

TO: GM13CO
RE: TRANSACTION OF 62,321 MT

YOU ARE NOW PURSUING AS CODED SELLER, WE HEREBY GUARANTEE THAT YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE SAID TRANSACTION, UPON ITS SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION IS 1/4% OF 1%. WE SHALL MAKE ALL PAYMENTS MADE TO YOUR ACCOUNT TO ANY BANK OF YOUR CHOICE, AT YOUR INSTRUCTION.

Makati, Philippines, February 21,1986

PN15182541/ OR 12241942/ AA (BBRP) ABLL1

ATTESTED:
(signature unidentified)
"301/RVH/301STCO/S18/69/66"

TO: 1135PACER

IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTION OF 62,321 METRIC TONS, PURSUED BY GM13CO, WE HEREBY GUARANTEE THAT YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE SAID TRANSACTION, UPON ITS SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION IS 1/4% OF 1%. WE SHALL MAKE ALL PAYMENTS MADE TO YOUR ACCOUNT TO ANY BANK OF YOUR CHOICE AT YOUR INSTRUCTION.

Makati, Philippines, February 21, 1986.

PN15182541/ OR 12241942/ AA (BBRP) ABLL1B

ATTESTED:
(signature unidentified)
301/RVH/301STCO/S18/69/66

THE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L

REQUEST ATTENTION TO:
____________________
____________________ THRU:

1. THE CODED PRIVATE SELLER OF SCATTERED GOLD BARS IN THE PHILIPPINES

INVESTMENT LOANS:

SUCCESFULLY AND DISCREETLY LOANS ARRANGED FROM 1980 TO 1985 INCLUSIVE WITH 216 PRIME LEAD BANKS BY PN-1518254 AND HIS 25 SECRET GROUPS: WITH PARTICIPATIONS OF CODED GROUPS FROM USA AND EUROPE.

SUBJECT :

READINESS AND AVAILABILITY AND BLOCKED U.S. DLRS 100 BILLION, OR U.S. DLRS 150-BILLION INITIALLY AS INVESTMENT LOANS OFFERED TO THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT THRU THE CODED PRIVATE SELLER OF THESE 62,321 METRIC TONS OF GOLD BARS OR MORE.

THESE USDLRS BILLION FUNDS AS INVESTMENT LOANS HAVE BEEN ARRANGED-NEGOTIATED SINCE 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984 WITH USDLRS 600-BILLION CAN BE REACTIVATED WITH 1,000 PRIME BANKS IN THE U.S.A. AND EUROPE WITHIN 20 DAYS FROM ACCEPTANCE AND REPAYABLE WITH 62,321 METRIC TONS OR MORE OF THESE GOLD BARS OF RECORDED 999.9% PURITY OF DIFFERENT SIZES OR DENOMINATIONS OWNED AND POSSESSED BY PHILIPPINES/ CODED PRIVATE SELLER IN THE PHILIPPINES.

C O N F I D E N T I A L

1) 62,321 METRIC TONS OF GOLD BARS IN THE PHILIPPINES, ETC.

Hereunder in simple words are the facts and events in a nutshell to which we adhered and by reasons of which, we, thru the code 'U.S.A.D.T' the World-Sole-Financially Established lenders-buyers and the European Lenders-Buyers, have both recognized without any reservation, the rights, possession, ownership and disposition of these gold bars with recorded 999.9% purity of different sizes and denominations of your/Philippines and for which we agree, as we have agreed to give INVESTMENT LOANS repayable with these gold bars in the Philippines, vice-versa.

2) IN THE PHILIPPINES

These 62,321 Metric Tons or more of gold bars are in the Philippines, but secretly, per our calculations only about 43,200 Metric Tons of these gold bars had been found and excavated from 1972 to 1980, the other 20,000 Metric Tons, or more, are still to be located and 'excavated' (?), or already very secretly-shrewdly in the hands of some retired/active Generals (?) and/or private Hunters-Priests, alike.

3) READINESS OF UNLIMITED USDLRS-BILLION FUNDS AS INVESTMENT LOANS: PHILIPPINES IN CRISIS

The Philippines is in a sort of serious political and economic crisis. Every and all bankers in the world are refusing to give financial aids and no more foreign banks and foreign institutions would lend money to the Philippine Government due to its huge unpaid external debts, and the only salvation as we believe and know pretty clear are these gold bars of the coded seller thru 'Authority' under the principle of 'Pares Patria' thru, the initial USDLRS IOO-Billion and up to USDLRS 150-Billion which had long been blocked and ready since December 2, 1985 and the USDLRS 600-Billion can be easily reactivated by fiduciary-principals of ours, thru code: "U.S.A.D.T." and the European groups with its 1,000 prime banks within 20 days, more or less, if these offers are accepted. And all these U.S. BILLION FUNDS are all for INVESTMENT LOANS for the Philippine/coded seller and repayable with all these 62,321 Metric Tons, or more, of gold bars of any size or denomination with 999.9% purity.

4) BEGINNING OF NEGOTIATIONS ABROAD WHOEVER THE CODED PRIVATE SELLER

Therefore Sir, with much due respect to the private coded seller authorized for these huge transactions in connection with these scattered gold bars of different sizes in the Philippines 999.9% purity and 24 carat - we wish you to know, thru the undersigned coded Chairman of the Confidential Committee, in order these highly classified messages may eventually reach the coded seller of these 62,321 or more Metric Tons of gold bars with different sizes or denominations that initially USDLRS 100-Billion or USDLRS 150-Billion as Investment-Loans have long been readied and blocked and can be reactivated within a very reasonable time. To be repetitious, all these INVESTMENT LOANS as cited above, initially USDLRS 100-Billion have had already been readied and blocked since December 2, 1985 up to the present with 1,000 prime banks in the USA continents and in some 500 primebanks in the European countries---with USDLRS 600 Billion or more can be reactivated within 20 days or more, are all for direct INVESTMENT LOANS to the Philippines/coded seller who is naturally under the 'Pares Patria' of the President of the Philippines and which are repayable in 24 hours only with these 62,321 Metric Tons or more of gold bars of different sizes and denominations and with 999.9% purity. These USDLRS BILLION DOLLARS can be verified on bank-to-bank levels only.

5) MAN CODED PNI518254 AND HIS SECRET GROUPS INTERNAL AND ABROAD

If only to help the Philippines and his countrymen thru his beloved President to secure the unlimited U.S. Billion Dollars as Investment loans and overcome the political and economic uncertainties of the Philippines, this coded man, PN1518254 or code '12241942/AA (BBRP) ABLLIB' had resigned from his gainful banking-finance-law practices giving up his retainership of 43 private corporations and even went to the extent of, at the great sacrifice of his family and relatives of encumbering his properties some of which have already been forfeited and spending with his groups both foreign and local to the tune of more than 315,000 dollars had worked and still is working very hard with HIS AFORESAID GROUPS TO TIGHTLY HOLD ON THESE 8,000 foreign banks and to successfully secure these unlimited U.S. Billion Dollars as Investment Loan, all repayable with these gold bars in the Philippines.

6) OUR FOREIGN FIDUCIARY PRINCIPALS' REQUIREMENTS

Therefore, thru our foreign fiduciary principals-lenders-buyers, we request the following:

1. Ocular inspection of all these (Physical stocks) gold bars in the Philippines or elsewhere abroad by PN1518254 soonest with coded 'U.S.A.D.T.' representative and the certification of availability and genuineness of aforesaid gold bars from the International Prime Trust bank of seller on the deposit of these gold bars or two hard copies authorization from the President of the Philippines or his authorized Minister confirming the availability of these gold bars about 62,321 Metric Tons or more of any sizes and purity of 999.5% or 999.9% and the readiness and willingness to accept our Investment Loan offers which are all repayable with these aforesaid gold bars and after assay and determination of the genuineness of gold bars of the U.S.A.D.T./USA and the European Legitimate Lenders-Buyers, will pay thru coded sellers' prime banks, or on any suggested procedures from coded authorized seller/ Philippine coded Authority that can be mutually agreed upon.

2. These U.S.A.D.T./LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS from the USA, together with the European groups, shall always be FLEXIBLE and UNDERSTANDING to the secret requirements of the Authority/ Coded Private Seller, knowing these huge transactions have to partake of a very PRIVATE TRANSACTION IN NATURE.

3. All incentives and commissions are deducted at source with international tariff of 10% and incentives of 7% less 2% for PN1518524/Foreign Groups/Local VIPS/GROUPS.

4. That our U.S.A.D.T. Lenders-Buyers groups in the USA will pay CASH ONE THIRD of the total prices based on the London Second Fix of all these gold bars of any sizes, minus/less above international Tariff 10% and 7% commissions deducted at source, with remaining balance corresponding to the prices of all these gold bars, shall be paid depending on the "WISHES" of the coded Seller assigned for this purpose.

7) MECHANICS OF USDLRS-BILLION DOLLARS INVESTMENT LOANS FOR THE PHILIPPINES

The mechanics of these unlimited USDLRS-BILLION DOLLARS as INVESTMENT LOANS are as follows:

1. Since these huge confidential transactions involving USDLRS 983 Billion which are "perhaps" the actual price of these gold bars in the Philippines, which price is based on London Second Fix, less the ten (10%) percent tariff for rebaring, recasting and reassaying deductible for every release of these USDLRS-BILLION funds as INVESTMENT LOANS and less further the seven (7%) percent as incentives and tax sales abroad (to 7% less 2% for codes LOCAL VIPS/ GROUPS AND PN1518524 and 1,000 to 2,000 members groups)--- are purely private transactions --- and no world financing agencies will ever know any of these huge transactions, except the coded private seller and the confidential Philippine AUTHORITY.

2. It will appear in all banks documentation of these coded "U.S.A.D.T." LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS from the USA, as well as from the EUROPEAN LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS - the former represented by the private company while the latter is represented also by private company, respectively, that all these initial USDLRS100-Billion or more will appear exactly as 'VOLUNTARY INVESTMENT LOANS' to coded seller for "PHILIPPINE AUTHORITY" and for that reason, as if an, repeat as if an, INVESTMENT LOANS AGREEMENT shall be signed at the office of the Philippine President, when in truth, it is the acceptance of these US-HUNDREDS BILLION DOLLARS FUNDS very secretly and the simultaneous turn-over to our two groups of all those gold bar's with 999.9% purity.

3. And behind these INVESTMENT LOANS --- for the reasons the initial USDLRS 100-Billion or initial USDLRS 150-Billion as irrevocably certified by our 10 to 40 lead prime international banks and these funds are good as CASH - thus there will only be two permanent and exclusive contracts to be signed with the coded private seller under the umbrella of "Code1 " of the Philippines in favor of our two world most financially established democratic lenders-buyers groups, i. e. the U.S.A.D.T / LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS from the USA and the EUROPEAN GROUPS, and which contracts shall be signed in the physical presence of that "Authority" of the Philippines, at Malacanang Palace, Manila, Philippines:

4. Simultaneously, within 10 days, after such agreements and acceptance of the Initial USDLRS-100 Billion, or USDLRS 150-Billion, with our licensed international assayers of these two world most established Financial coded groups, as buyers-lenders shall proceed to personally conduct the assaying of all the physical stocks of these gold bars which may last up to May 30, 1986; thereafter, these physical stocks of gold bars, if found genuine, the coded "U.S.A.D.T." LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS will immediately issue so-called Certified funds from International Prime Banks for the balance.

8) ABSOLUTE GUARANTEE BY THESE TWO LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS

The U.S.A.D.T world most established Financial Legitimate moneyed groups from the USA thru its front company and with the EUROPEAN LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS thru its front-company hereby mutually, thru the undersigned committee Chairman, has IRREVOCABLY, UNEQUIVOCALLY AND ABSOLUTELY guaranteed that the private coded seller and his "AUTHORITY" of the Philippines shall be free and exempt from any civil or criminal liability or international suits that may arise in connection with these gold bars transactions which these two most financially established groups are buying with the processes and mechanics of so-called "INVESTMENT LOANS AGREEMENTS"; and the undersigned members and chairman of the finance confidential committee of these USADT-LENDERS-BUYERS from the USA and the EUROPEAN-LENDERS-BUYERS will all do the hauling and transporting of all these gold bars very quietly at their expense without any obligations whatsoever from private coded seller and his "Authority" after the assay are finished up to May 1986, through the U.S.A. 90,000 deadweight tons Aircraft Carrier in one or two shipments only and very confidentially. Further whatever PENDING CASES this coded seller or his "AUTHORITY" has filed against them with the International Court of Justice or International Forum, these two word most established financial and moneyed groups through the undersigned members and chairman of the Finance Committee shall be answerable and responsible and hereby, these coded world's group assume any and all obligations unconditionally and responsibility thereto.

9) FINAL OFFER AND CONCLUSION

The acceptance of these USDLRS 600-Billion up to USDLRS 983-Billion, with initial USDLRS 100-Billion and/or USDLRS150-Billion already BLOCKED since December 2, 1984 and November 7, 1985 as INVESTMENT LOANS, and all repayable very secretly and CONFIDENTIALLY with all these gold bars in the Philippines of about 62,321 Metric Tons or more with 999.9% purity --- the first and primary "contact" to be made by said "AUTHORITY" /coded private seller (thru its seller's international bank) should be coursed first its acceptance of these UNLIMITED-US-BILLION DOLLARS as Investment Loans to the same man coded as PN1518254 or "12241942/ AA (BBRP) ABLLIB" and with coded seller will know where to immediately "contact" this PN1518254.

With the foregoing facts and events and more practically our aforesaid adherence and firmed and complete recognition of the Philippines' rights, possession, ownership and disposition of all those gold bars, we, thru the coded "U.S.A.D.T." MONEYED-LENDERS-BUYERS from the USA and with the European lenders-buyers groups, ---now wish to call the special attention of:

10) CODED SELLER THRU HIS "AUTHORITY" CONCERNED

On these "INVESTMENT LOANS" long negotiated and finally arranged from 1980 to 1984 inclusive with 216 foreign prime banks by the man coded as PN1518254 or "12241942 (BBRP)ABBLIB" and his groups, with the principal participations of Foreign groups (USA) and the European groups.

Consequently, the READINESS and AVAILABILITY of all these UNLIMITED US-BILLION DOLLARS as INVESTMENT LOANS cited above are all blocked since December 2, 1985 exclusively intended for the Philippine' coded seller repayable with these 62,321 Metric Tons of gold bars, or more, in the Philippines. And with these huge sums as INVESTMENT LOANS are still intact, "frozen" so to say with the 3,000 prime banks in the USA and in 500 prime banks in the European continents earning nothing since December 2, 1985 up to the present while other end users /countries in the world are all in bad need of these "BLOCKED-US BILLION DOLLARS."

These two-world-moneyed groups thru the undersigned had agreed with coded seller that all these gold bars transactions should be treated as very PRIVATE IN NATURE and no involvement of any public officials nor Philippine embassies abroad, and we shall always be FLEXIBLE, UNDERSTANDING and SYMPATHETIC to the "requirements" of the Philippine "coded seller." And finally, with the successful and confidential conclusion of this transaction, it becomes necessary immediately to convert the present Central Bank Minting facilities to an internationally accepted gold bullion refinery, either as subsidiaries of world renown minting firms such as the Johnson Mathey, National Mint or the likes or as separate private company under the Trilateral supervision.

Now, it's up to YOU, SIR, to make the 54 Million Filipino people happy and economically and industrually stable and solid with these UNLIMITED BILLION USDLRS INVESTMENT LOANS repayable with these 62,321 Metric Tons of gold bars or more in your country. Don't wait for others to claim this IMMORTAL CREDIT. Kindly do it while you are in your solid possession and right and you alone can do it and alone can claim immortal glory as the greatest man in Asia.

Yours very respectfully,
"PN1518254 /OR 12241942 /AA (BBRP)ABBLIB"

(unidentified signature)
"301 /RVH /301STCO /S18 /69 /66"
THE "U.S.A.D.T." GROUPS OR LENDERS-BUYERS/ USA AND THE EUROPEAN GROUPS OF LENDERS-BUYERS thru (Confidential Finance Committee Members)

(unidentified signature)
Authorized Signature
Coded Chairman, World's Coded Finance Committee

Yamashita Treasure

2011-10-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

Yamashita's Gold - Eyewitness
Reveals Truth Of Fabulous
WWII Hidden Treasure
By Sterling and Peggy Seagrave
South China Morning Post
9-3-1

In the closing months of World War II, in the Philippines, several of Japan's highest ranking imperial princes hid tons of looted gold bullion and other stolen treasure in caves and tunnels, to recover later. This was the wealth of 12 Asian countries, accumulated over thousands of years.

Expert teams accompanying Japan's armed forces had systematically emptied treasuries, banks, factories, private homes, pawn shops, art galleries, and stripped ordinary people, while Japan's top gangsters looted Asia's underworld and its black economy.

There were 175 ''imperial'' treasure sites hidden throughout the Philippines. When American tanks were close, the chief engineers of those vaults were given a farewell party 67 metres underground in Tunnel 8 in the mountains of Luzon, stacked with row after row of gold bars. As the evening progressed, they drank great quantities of sake, sang patriotic songs and shouted banzai (long life).

At midnight, General Yamashita Tomoyuki and the princes slipped out, and dynamite charges were set off in the access tunnels, entombing the engineers. Their vaults would remain secret. The princes escaped to Tokyo by submarine, and three months later General Yamashita surrendered to American troops. Japan had lost the war militarily, but the princes made certain Japan did not lose financially.

This grisly event has remained unknown until now, and the hidden treasure was brushed off as a fanciful legend of ''Yamashita's Gold''. But an eyewitness to the entombment has taken us there and given us his personal account. During the war, Ben Valmores was the young Filipino valet of a senior prince, who was in charge of closing all imperial treasure sites in the Philippines. A sometimes sentimental man, the prince spared Ben's life and led him out of Tunnel 8 just before the dynamite was detonated.

Japan's looting of Asia was overseen by [then-emperor] Hirohito's brother Prince Chichibu. His organisation was codenamed kin no yuri (Golden Lily), the title of one of the emperor's poems. Other princes headed different parts of Golden Lily across the conquered territories. Eventually, Japanese sources told us that Ben's wartime master was prince Takeda Tsuneyoshi, first cousin of Hirohito and grandson of emperor Meiji.

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1998, we tested Ben with 1930s photographs of many princes, all the names removed, and he instantly identified prince Takeda, Hirohito's brother prince Chichibu and other princes.
Ben said he had spent time with each of them, bringing them food, tea and cigarettes while they inventoried each treasure site. When he saw our photo of Prince Takeda, Ben froze, then began softly crooning the Japanese folk song Sakura, Sakura (Cherry Blossoms), which he said Takeda often sang to himself.

In the final stages of work on a biography of Japan's imperial family titled The Yamato Dynasty, we were told that in October 1945, American intelligence agents learned where some of the Japanese loot was hidden in the Philippines, and quietly recovered billions of dollars worth of gold bullion, platinum, and loose diamonds. This information, if true, revealed the existence of an extraordinary state secret, something the United States Government kept from its own citizens for more than half a century. There was no time to include this in the biography. It had to be investigated separately. Here is some of what we have since learned:

After surrendering on September 2, 1945, General Yamashita was charged with war crimes over gruesome atrocities committed in Manila under the order of an admiral, while Yamashita had ordered withdrawing troops to leave the city unharmed. During his trial, there was no mention of plundered treasure, or of looting during the war.

But we now know there was a hidden agenda. Because it was not possible to torture General Yamashita physically without this becoming evident to his lawyers, members of his staff were tortured. His driver, Major Kojima Kashii, was given special attention. In charge of the torture of Major Kojima was a Filipino-American intelligence officer named Severino Garcia Santa Romana, whose friends called him Santy. He wanted the major to reveal each place where he had taken Yamashita, where bullion and other treasure was hidden for recovery after the war. Supervising Santy during the torture was Captain Edward Lansdale, later one of America's best known ''Cold Warriors''.

Early that October, Kojima broke and led Lansdale and Santy to more than a dozen Golden Lily treasure vaults in the rugged country north of Manila. What they found astounded everyone from General Douglas MacArthur all the way up to the White House. After discussions with his cabinet, President Harry Truman decided to keep the recovery a state secret.

Santy's ensuing recoveries greatly altered America's leverage during the Cold War. According to senior US government officials and high-ranking US Army officers, the Truman administration set this treasure aside along with Axis loot recovered in Europe, as a secret political action fund to fight communism in the Cold War.

Crudely put, it would be used to bribe statesmen and military officers, and to buy elections for anti-communist political parties. The idea for a global political action fund based on war loot had originated with US secretary of war, Henry Stimson. During the war, Stimson had a brain-trust thinking hard about recovered Axis plunder, and how it should be handled after the war. Their solution was to set up what is informally called the ''Black Eagle Trust'', after the black eagle emblem of Hitler's Reichsbank in Berlin.

The Black Eagle Trust was first discussed in secret during July 1944, when 44 nations met at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to plan the post-war economy. This was confirmed to us by a number of high-level sources, including former CIA deputy director Ray Cline, who knew about Santy's recoveries in 1945, and continued to be involved in attempts in the 1980s and 1990s to hide blocks of Japanese war loot still said to be in the vaults of banks in New York.

In November 1945, General MacArthur strolled down row after row of gold bars stacked two metres tall during a tour of vaults opened by Santy. >From what was seen in these vaults alone, it was evident that over a period of years Japan had looted billions of dollars in treasure from all over Asia.Much of this plunder had reached Japan overland earlier, from China through Korea, but the rest was hidden in the Philippines, unable to be shipped to Japan by sea because of the successful US submarine blockade.

According to Ray Cline and others, between 1945 and 1947 the gold bullion recovered by Santy and Lansdale was moved discreetly to 172 accounts at banks in 42 countries.

There were important reasons for all this secrecy. If the recovery of this huge mass of stolen gold was known only to a trusted few, the countries and individuals that had been plundered could not lay claim to it. Truman recognised that the very existence of so much black gold, if it became public knowledge, would cause the metal's fixed price to collapse. But as long as the gold was kept hidden, prices could be maintained and currencies pegged to gold would be stable. Meanwhile, the black gold would serve as a reserve asset, bolstering the prime banks in each country, and strengthening the anti-communist governments of those nations.

To hide the existence of all this treasure, Washington had to tell a number of lies. Especially lies about Japan, which had stolen most of the gold. America wanted Japan to become its anti-communist bastion in Asia, where the mainland was being overrun by communists. If American conservatives and Japanese conservatives were to ally effectively against communism, they had to begin by enlarging their financial resources for the Cold War.

Above all, the source of much of this hidden wealth must never be acknowledged. Washington had to insist, starting in 1945, that Japan never stole anything, and was flat broke and bankrupt when the war ended. Here was the beginning of many terrible secrets.

Because they remained ''off the books'', these enormous political action funds got into the wrong hands, where they remain to this day. We can reveal that in 1960, then vice-president Richard Nixon ''gave'' one of the biggest of these political action funds, the US$35-billion (about HK$272 billion) M-Fund, to leading members of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). In return, he is believed to have sought their support for his presidential campaign that year.

The M-Fund, now said to be worth more than US$500 billion, is still controlled by members of the LDP.

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, we are told that Japan's wartime elite the imperial family, the zaibatsu (large industrial business conglomerates), the yakuza (Japanese mafia) and the ''good'' bureaucrats ended the war as impoverished victims of a handful of ''bad'' military zealots. We are told that Japan was badly damaged and impoverished, barely able to feed itself at war's end.

In fact, Japan emerged from the war far richer than before, and with remarkably little damage, except to the homes of millions of ordinary Japanese who did not count, at least in the view of their overlords.

Evidence of Golden Lily loot comes also from straightforward legal actions in America. Such simple things as the probating of the will of Santa Romana (Santy), verification of his tax records, and legal evidence of his fortune deposited in the US, Switzerland, Hong Kong and elsewhere, provide hard proof that the world is awash with clandestine bank accounts growing out of Golden Lily.

Other lawsuits in the US prove that Golden Lily war loot was indeed hidden in the Philippines. Rogelio Roxas, a Filipino locksmith, found a one-tonne solid-gold Buddha and thousands of gold bars hidden in a cave near Baguio only to have it stolen from him by President Ferdinand Marcos. Roxas was subsequently tortured and died in suspicious circumstances. Some believe he was murdered. In 1996, a US Federal Court awarded his heirs a judgment of US$22 billion against the Marcos estate.

As the 1951 Peace Treaty was skewed by secret deals, thousands of Japan's victims have been deprived of any compensation for their suffering. According to Article 14 of the Treaty: ''It is recognised that Japan should pay reparations to the Allied Powers for the damage and suffering caused by it during the war. Nevertheless it is also recognised that the resources of Japan are not presently sufficient.'' To reinforce the claim that Japan was broke, Article 14 noted that ''the Allied Powers waive all reparations claims of the Allied Powers and their nationals arising out of any actions taken by Japan...'' By signing the Treaty, Allied countries concurred that Japan's plunder had vanished down a rabbit hole, and all Japan's victims were out of luck. In return for going along with the Treaty, the Allies received portions of the gold bullion recovered by Santy.

We have evidence from former CIA deputy director Cline that the gold bullion Santy and Lansdale recovered was secretly moved to national treasuries and prime banks in more than 42 countries, including Great Britain. We also have evidence from British archives confirming this.

More than half a century later, the last battle of the Pacific War is being waged in courts in the US and Japan where surviving prisoners of war, slave labourers, comfort women and civilian victims of Japan have filed billion-dollar lawsuits to win compensation so mysteriously denied them after the war. In 1995, it was estimated that there were 700,000 victims of the war who had still received no compensation.

Today, their numbers are dwindling rapidly because of age and illness. Backing them is an extraordinary coalition, including international law firms with years of experience, fighting for compensation from German industries and Swiss banks, for crimes committed and money looted during the Nazi Holocaust.

Sterling and Peggy Seagrave are the authors of ''Golden Warriors''. This is an edited extract of the book's prologue. It will be published in French by Editions Michalon in November

Before 'Rolex 12,' there was 'Omega 5'

2011-10-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

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Before 'Rolex12,' there was 'Omega 5'

By Inquirer Research, Fe Zamora
Inquirer
First Posted 00:53:00 09/21/2007

Filed Under: history

MANILA, Philippines -- Martial Law is generally believed to have been a one-man undertaking, but Ferdinand Marcos himself revealed that he consulted with certain people--initially referred to as the "12 apostles"--before he signed Proclamation No. 1081 on Sept. 21, 1972.
The details of the plan to declare martial law were contained in Oplan Sagittarius, a document that identified the units involved in its implementation, as well as the targets for military takeover, such as airports, oil depots and the mass media.
Marcos named the two civilians and 10 top officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a speech delivered in 1974 and published in the Official Gazette.
The military officers were AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Espino; Maj. Gen. Rafael Zagala, Army commanding general; Maj. Gen. Fidel Ramos, chief of the Philippine Constabulary (PC) ; Maj. Gen. Jose Rancudo, Air Force chief; Adm. Hilario Ruiz, Navy flag officer in command; Maj. Gen. Fabian Ver; Brig. Gen. (then Col.) Ignacio Paz, chief of intelligence, the Joint General Staff; Brig. Gen. Tomas Diaz of the 1st PC Zone; Brig. Gen. (then Col.) Alfredo Montoya, Metropolitan Command chief; Col. Romeo Gatan, provincial PC commander of Rizal and special projects officer.
The civilians were Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and businessman and Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco.
These closest advisers of Marcos were later called the "Rolex 12." (The story goes that each of the men received a Rolex watch from Marcos himself. This was later denied repeatedly, but the name is still used to refer to the group.)
'7 wise men'
In the Official Gazette report, Marcos said he met with the 12 men "repeatedly, in all-night sessions at Pangarap, Malacañang Park," five or seven days before the actual proclamation."
But according to a general interviewed by National College of Public Administration and Governance dean Alex Brillantes Jr., and quoted in his book, "Dictatorship and Martial Law: Philippine Authoritarianism in 1972," six of the 12 knew of Marcos' decision to impose martial law two months before the actual proclamation.
Referred to as the "seven wise men" by Marcos' civilian aides in Malacañang, the group--Marcos himself, Enrile, Ver, Diaz, Montoya, Gatan and Cojuangco--met in early July 1972 at the Pangarap rest house after a party held to celebrate the promotion of some military officers.
Per Brillantes' account: Marcos disclosed his plan to use his emergency powers and told Enrile to "plan this out."
The group left the rest house and moved to the Presidential Command's headquarters, where Enrile assigned the tasks to those present.
Montoya was to implement the declaration of martial law in Metro Manila, Diaz was to direct its implementation in the First PC Zone, and Ver was to handle the "conclave in Malacañang."
One of the generals noticed Ramos' absence and asked Ver why he was not included, given that he was a Marcos relative.
Ver replied: "I really don't know. ... That's how the President decides these things."
Brillantes said Enrile admitted later in an interview that it was he "who dictated the drafts [of Presidential Proclamation No. 1081-'Proclaiming a State of Martial Law in the Philippines"], but that the President corrected them."
Enrile also reportedly said Cojuangco was involved because "he was the political leader trusted by the President to supervise the Central Luzon area."
Another general interviewed by Brillantes said Cojuangco was involved "because he had contact with, and knew how to handle, [Sen. Benigno "Ninoy"] Aquino."
Ninoy Aquino, who was assassinated on Aug. 21, 1983, was Marcos' archenemy. His wife, former President Corazon Aquino, is a cousin of Cojuangco's.
'Omega 5'
But of the Rolex 12, there were the "Omega 5," Tomas Diaz told the Inquirer Thursday.
Diaz, apparently the lone survivor of Omega 5, said this secret group (which supposedly included Ver) helped craft the decrees leading to Proclamation 1081 even before the Rolex 12 finalized the strongman's plan.
A native of Paoay, Ilocos Norte, Diaz said the Rolex 12 met in 1972 to implement what the Omega 5 had planned as early as 1970.
Having been a member of the two groups, he said he had both a Rolex and an Omega watch.
"Marcos was a very detailed man. He started preparing in 1970," Diaz said in a phone interview.
He said that at the time of the Omega 5 meetings, he was PC provincial commander of Tarlac, a hotbed of insurgency and Ninoy Aquino's home province.
During the Rolex 12 meetings in 1972, he said, he was already commander of the 1st PC Zone, which had jurisdiction over Tarlac, Pampanga and other provinces in Central Luzon.
He retired in 1978 as deputy PC chief.
'About midnight'
It was Montoya who recommended that the declaration be made at "about midnight," when most of the radio and TV stations would be off the air.
If martial law was to be declared during the day, Montoya had an alternate plan of blowing up all transmitter stations to cut off communication.
Of the "12 apostles," only Rancudo opposed the plan to declare martial law--a fight that he continued until his death on April 14, 1987.
Enrile stayed on as Marcos' defense secretary (later minister) until their breakup in February 1986.
During martial law, Enrile, Cojuangco and Maria Clara Lobregat formed what militant farmers called the triumvirate for the implementation of Marcos' coconut levies.
Enrile is now a member of the administration bloc in the Senate.
Where are they now?
When Marcos fled in 1986 to Hawaii, where he died on Sept. 28, 1989, Cojuangco and family went with him.
In November 1989, Cojuangco ended his self-exile and came back in a private aircraft. Today, he is back as board chair of San Miguel Corp., the country's largest firm, which he once controlled.
He also chairs the central committee of the Nationalist People's Coalition.
Ramos joined Enrile in seizing the AFP headquarters in February 1986 and both were hailed heroes of Edsa 1.
President Corazon Aquino appointed Ramos in 1986 as AFP chief of staff. In 1988, he became defense secretary.
He was responsible for blocking six coup attempts against the Aquino administration.
He served as President in 1992-1998. He is now chair emeritus of the ruling party, Lakas-CMD.
Ver was one of the most feared and powerful men during Marcos' iron rule. He was held responsible by human rights groups for the imprisonment, torture and death of countless dissidents.
He fled to Hawaii along with the Marcoses.
He was charged by the majority members of the Agrava Fact-Finding Board as a principal in the double murder of Ninoy Aquino and Rolando Galman. But in late 1985, the Sandiganbayan acquitted him and other military respondents.
Ver was charged as an accomplice in a new trial ordered by the Supreme Court. But he was not tried in his absence and the case against him has been shelved.
He died on Nov. 21, 1998, in Bangkok.
Gatan, also among those believed involved in the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, has likewise died, along with Espino and Paz.

Members of the "Rolex 12"

Tomas Diaz, PMA-Cl '51 - Vice Chief of the Philippine Constabulary

Juan Ponce Enrile - Minister of Defense

Romeo Espino UP-ROTC - Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)

Romeo Gatan - Chief of the Philippine Constabulary in Rizal Province

Alfredo Montoya, PMA Cl-'51 -Chief of the Philippine Constabulary Metropolitan Command (METROCOM)

Ignacio Paz, PMA Cl-'51 - Chief of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP)

Fidel V. Ramos, USMA Cl-'50; Honorary PMA Cl-51 -Chief of the Philippine Constabulary (PC)

Jose Rancudo - Chief of the Philippine Air Force (PAF)

Hilario Ruiz -Chief of the Philippine Navy (PN)

Rafael Zagala -Chief of the Philippine Army (PA)

Fabian Ver, Honorary-PMA Cl '51 - Chief of National Intelligence Security Authority (NISA) [1]

Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, Jr., Honorary PMA Cl-'51 - present Chairman of San Miguel Corporation.

IMELDA MARCOS FAILED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT and THE DEATH OF NINOY AQUINO

2011-10-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

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This video shows us the 1972 assassination attempt of Imelda Marcos. Notice how many slashes and jabs this guy gets before he is shot and how many shots it takes for him to go down. The would be assassin was Carlito Dimahilig. Marcos required 75 stitches.

On July 1, 2010, President Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino 3 served his first full day in office in the Philippines. The video posted here is in memory of and in tribute to the President's father. On August 21, 1983, opposition leader Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino Jr. attempted to end a long exile and return to politics in the Philippines. An opponent of President Ferdinand Marcos since the late 1960's, Aquino felt it was time to challenge an aging and ailing Marcos again. This reporter was the last person to interview Aquino before he was gunned down by a bullet to the back of the head as he exited the airplane from Taipei at Manila airport. Aquino told me he was wearing a bullet proof vest and that he would not be 'paralyzed by inaction.' 'If my time has come - so be it.' Aquino told me. The video here, out of synch and of poor quality is an edit of my tapes of that day: the last few minutes in the life of Aquino. The Aquino story formed part of my reporting life in the 1980's. I later covered the 'Yellow Power Revolution' of the current President's mother Cory, a revolution which led to her ascendency to the Presidency less than three years after 'Ninoy's' death.

A LETTER TO PRES CORY REGARDING MARCOS MASSIVE WEALTH

2011-10-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

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The following is extracted from Eric A. San Juan's book "Marcos Legacy Revisited," courtesy of "Dirk." The preamble and after word is by, author San Juan and the letter itself does exist and was circulated in the "market" soon after it was written.

Since the search for the so-called Marcos fortune began, the nation has been treated to all sorts of reports about cash being stashed in the banks of Switzerland, and gold bullion at Fort Knox, the Bank of England and many places in the Philippines. The diggings at Fort Santiago sanctioned by no less than President Aquino's national security adviser showed how much the government put its faith in the story of the hidden gold treasure.

The diggings have stopped but unknown to the public, a small group of men continues to operate at People's Television 4 station under the tutelage of Conrado Limcaoco Jr, for no higher purpose than to pursue leads about the Yamashita treasure with the assistance of Noel Soriano, the National Security Adviser of Cory Aquino.

In the last failed coup, military rebels claimed to have carted away from PTV-4 documents pertaining to this gold search. On the basis of these papers, the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabayan-Soldiers Of the Filipino People-Young Officers Union claimed that the Limcaoco group had recovered some gold and had gathered facts that lead them to believe the Yamashita treasure exists, but they appeared determined to hide this from the Filipino people.

Limcaoco denies the charges. But he does not deny the existence of his work and what he has been doing. He says that the group's task is to evaluate every bit of inforwhation that comes along, without prejudging it.

Most of what comes along is mind-boggling, but Limcaoco says he is not prepared to reject anything.

Based on the group's work, an October 10, 1989, Limcaoco's staff prepared the draft of a report to President Aquino, which proposes to tell all. Limcaoco says he never signed the letter, and that it was not sent at all. But even without the final signature and without it having been sent, the letter reads better than a story, whether factual or fictional.

The following is Limcaoco's letter to Mrs. Aquno:

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

10 October 1989

CORAZON C. AQUINO
President of the Philippines
Malacanang, Manila

Dear Mrs. President,

I have never waivered in my commitment to serve you and our people over the past few years. Even in our bleakest moments, I was confident we would triumph -- and thus far, we have.

In the course of tracking down the right-wing military adventurists a task which is continuing, we have unearthed a story -- parts of which you may have heard before -- but which we feel deserves a serious second glance at this particular historical conjuncture. I ask you to please read through this report personally and not show or pass it on to other officials of this govemment until we have had the chance to meet, should you feel such a meeting is necessary after going through this. Please suspend your judgment and disbelief and know that this report was written after much in-depth intelligence work and soul-searching on my part.

I. Background/Premises

Our work thus far supports the contention that the Yamashita treasure does exist and appears to be the basis for the Marcos' hidden wealth. What has been recovered and sequestered to date is not even the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Over 90% of the worlds legal and illegal gold production were in Asia at the outbreak of World War II. Why? History will tell us why. From the galleon trade where spices and silk were traded for gold and other precious metals to the days before World War II when the Europeans, fearing a war in the West, moved their gold to their Asian colonies and former colonies for safekeeping. Thus, England moved their gold to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia -France to Vietnam, and so forth. The rest you know. The Japanese brought the gold here and had to leave it here as they retreated in defeat

From 1967 to 1973, Cipirino Garcia Sta. Romana found some of this gold and began shipping it out of the country mostly to the PROC. In 1973/4, Sta. Romana signed a power of attorney over the gold to Marcos. More of the treasure was found with the help of treasuro maps, foreign treasure hunters and the AFP (many of the retired generals now in Hawaii) in subsequent years. It was either (1) shipped out as is, (2) laundered via the Central Bank reminting facilities and through other means and then shipped out, or (3) reburied under the custodianship of trusted subalterns or heirs. Further, there reportedly is still 35-37% of the treasure still to be discovered -- which the likes of Noel Soriano and company have set their eyes on.

II. The Global Implications

There is a forty (40) year period within which another country may claim treasure/property taken from it with another country. This period lapsed in November 1985.

An interesting question is -- who owns the gold? Or better still -- who wants the gold? Technically, now the people of the Philippines can lay some claim to the gold, assuming Marcos was not an innocent "finder" or "treasure hunter" entitled to a share, but instead used his position and influence to find it, ship it out, and even sell some of it. To answer the question --

The countries of Europe want the gold! They believe much of it was theirs to begin with. They want or need it so much they are even willing to buy some of it back. A 1983/84 sale we are reconstructing indicates that the 11 monarchs of Europe syndicated a deal involving over 120 banks with the Bank of England as the lead bank to buy back some of the gold. This transaction is known by the code JOB/HK/25 which I will detail later.

The 12 Asian countries conquered and plundered by Japan in World War II want the gold! They believe they have a stake in this as it was from their countries that the Japanese took it from. Marcos struck deals with many of these Asian countries. He shipped back some of the gold to them in return for a share in the booty. For example, the gold shipped back to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India are reportedly split now at 70% of the particular country and 30% for Marcos. Japan allegedly has been promised 50% of Marcos 30% in these Asian settlements. Mrs. Yamashita has alleged shares in some of the gold stock in Asia. I will also detail this later in this report.

The United States of America wants some of the gold! The US had virtually no gold of its own to begin with. They need it to back their currency and to stave off economic difficulties. Marcos shipped large stocks of gold to the USA. Marcos allegedly committed to sell 300,000 metric tons of the gold to the US. Obviously, the Asian countries and the Europeans would look with displeasure at this -- if they knew about it or could prove it We have evidence that at least 2 major sales were negotiated with CIA and US Treasury front organizations in 1983/4 and 1984/5. One of these transactions in 1984/5 codenamed YAB42 was apparently aborted because of a difference in payment terms. The US offered 20% in cash and 80% in US government securities.

Marcos wanted 80% in cash and 20% in securities. The amount involved is staggering. A taped conversation with one of the buyer negotiators indicate that senior executive officials of the US Government during the period had to get Congressional approval to increase the US foreign debt to accommodate this deal. As late as mid-1986, US officials were trying to convince Marcos to conclude the deal in Hawaii. In 1987, feelers from their front organizations -- e.g., Navegacion Global's Mr. Bullock were sent to this government (A letter from Mr. Bullock was received by Malacanang Records Office last October 8, 1987 and is enclosed as Annex A). I believe some of our people may have even sat with Mr Bullock. I do not think they knew what Bullock vas really up to -- or understood or believed him if he told them. We allegedly have gold sitting in US depositories -- which the US government wants badly. They reportedly cannot release their new "rainbow dollar" (multicolored dollar bills) that are already printed without this gold to back it up.

III. The Marcos Scheme of Things

Marcos compartmentalized this whole operation so that very few could piece it all together. We have managed to assemble quite a number of Marcos' real operating people -- those that shipped the gold out, found the buyers, negotiated the transactions We are slowy piecing the puzzle together.

For each Marcos account, whether in cash or in bullion, these are assigned trustees and signatories -- some of whom do not even know each other. There are secret bank/depository arrangements such as access code and security countersigns.

Before his death, Marcos organized what is called THE UMBRELLA, a network of 54 people whose task is to manage these assets in the event of his death. In theory, the umbrella, not Mrs. Marcos or his children would execute his will. At least two members of the umbrella's inner core of about one dozen are already working with us. The umbrella has never been tested in action before. Marcos has never died before. Those who now work with me tell me that the chairman of the umbrella is a very decent man who can be talked to on behalf of our nation. Apparently, there is no sharp cleavage between this group (family, heirs, followers, etc.) and Imelda's. Most of what we know is FM's not Imelda's. It is doubtful that even she would know all of FM's holdings. The destabilization efforts will most probably come from Imelda's camp not surprisingly. Marcos is reported to have revised his will a few months before he died, asking former Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza to Hawaii for this purpose. Imelda was reportedly vehemently against the revision. We are trying, through the umbrella, to get a copy of this will.

Exactly how much gold is involved? The estimates vary, and understandably so because of the complex shipping procedures and the compartmentalized nature of the operation.

I have seen documents saying that the gold under the control of the umbrella (there are smaller stocks not reported to or controlled by the umbrella) is in the neighborhood of 1.33 million metric tons (MT). Whether one believes this figure or a lessor figure is not material given the magnitude of the entire scenario. One metric ton of gold is worth
about $11 million. The Phippines' annual gold production is estimated at between 40-60 metric tons The world's "legal" annual gold production, which is regulated by the London gold cartel so as not to upset gold pricesas well as the value of currencies of the world, is estimated at between 1,200 to 1,400 metric tons.

So, where is the gold? How much of it have we traced thus far?

IV. Where Is It?

Our sources have pinpointed the locations, volume, and details of many of the Marcos and Imelda gold accounts around the world.

We have left out the volume figures for countries other than the United States which are relevant for understanding points raised in other sections of the report We do have the detailed breakdown of these other accounts in the other countries but thought it best to omit these for now. The volume/amounts involved are staggering and may be subject to misinterpretation There is admittedly a possibility in some instances of double-counting an entry because of the process of shipping and laundering the gold from one country to another. We can present the figures per country and per bank should you wish to see them.

Whatever volume figures are ultimately believed or proven, the magnitude remains astounding. The gold was shipped out in a span of more than a decade from the late sixties to the mid-eighties. In the later frenzied stages from 1983-85, all forms of transport were used from commercial and chartered ocean vessels and aircraft to the military aircraft of the Philippines.

A. Asia

1. PROC -- in various depositories in Southern China & Switzerland; joint IRM/FM stock

-- an amount allegedly given to Mao Tse Tung by IRM, 1973, now with Madam Mao

2. Singapore -- in three banks in Singapore; banks and signatories identified

-- an amount reportedly given to Lee Kuan Yew by IRM in 1975, now in Tatlee Bank, Singapore

3. Malaysia -- in Bank Negara (Central bank), shipped 1973

4. Indonesia -- in at least 4 banks in Jakarta, 9,600 MT sold in 1987 for FM to Union Bank of Switzerland

5. India -- in various depositories; one 94 year-old trustee identified

6. Hong Kong -- in 10 Hong Kong banks; banks, signatories, account numbers, etc. identified

7. Marianas -- in private storage, IRM's stock; trustee identified

8. Palau -- in private storage, IRM's stock, trustee identified

9. Philippines -- 4,600 pieces, 75 kgs. in 18 identified banks in Metro Manila

-- more in private storage, some identified

-- more still to be dug up estimated at 400,000 MT

NOTES: Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 which are FM stocks are probably covered by the 70-30 deal with each country. No. 1 still has to be studied further, as both IRM and Madame Mao are no longer in their respective nation's political structures. Nos. 7 & 8 are also IRM stocks and are not probably covered by the 70-30 deal. Japan and Mrs. Yamashita have their stakes here as mentioned. Mrs. Yamashita is co-owner of some Hongkong stock (already identified). Japan may expect 50% of FM's 30% in these Asian settlements.

A. US and Environs

1. 38,000 MT -- various identified depository banks in New York

2. 72,000 MT -- Fort Knox, account no. identified

3. 18,300 MT -- in a New York bank; signatories, account codes identified

4. 62,000 MT -- various identified depository banks; Canada, Nevada, California, and Panama

NOTES: These were shipped out covering a period of more than 10 years from 1973-1983, The MAFIA and the CIA helped ship it, including some monitored shipments through Clark Air Base. Nos. 1 & 2 formed the stock for the YAB42 transaction to be detailed later Nos. 3 & 4 were also being sold in 1983-1985. It is doubtful any of these transactions were actually consumated.

5. Bahamas -- Banco Bahamas; trustee identified

6. Panama -- Bank of Panama; possible 1983 sales through Navegacion Global's Bullock

B. Europe

1. England -- in 4 identified London depository banks; IRM's stock

-- shipped 1978-85, flown to and reminted in Switzerland, then on to London in GLD bars

2. Switzerland -- in various depository banks, some banks and signatories identified

3. FRG -- in various depositories in Luxembourg and Bonn

-- Fabian Ver and Edna Camcam's account, some lent to back up FRG's currency

C. Africa -- FM owns 40% of 4 leading gold mining and processing firms

V. Some Transactions Worth Looking At

We must differentiate between the movement of the stock, its ultimate destination, and its final disposition in the event it was sold. The movement often required numerous transit points and sometimes "laundering" services like those provided by Johnson Matthey reminting refineries in England and Switzerland or by the Golden Eagle reminting plant in Hong Kong and even possibly by our awn Central Bank refinery in Quezon City. The original form of the treasure was varied and often indicated their countries of origin -- e.g. 75 kg., 91.33 kg. bars with various 'hallmarks" like "Suhatra-Loyd," a dragon, AAA, etc. Internationally, the 12.5 4 GLD or Good London Delivery bar is the recognized unit of gold that is numbered and registered in the London Commodity Computer by batches with indicated owners. These GLDs in batches are covered by Gold Bullion Certificates (GBCs) that are also registered in the London computer If GLDs are bought and sold, it is often not necessary to effect a, physical transfer of the stock but merely to credit and debit or swap equivalent currency or other GLDs or GBCs.

In 1983, FM gave the signal to start selling his gold in grand fashion. This was perhaps triggered by the unrest and re-awakening after 21 August. Literally hundreds of gold buyers, traders, brokers, and middlemen converged in Manila in the years 1983-85, FM issued "mandates" to select people to sell this gold for him (A sample of a "mandate" granted to a certain Konsehala Candelaria V. Santiago is enclosed as Annex B). Others managed to secure "sub-mandates" from the original mandate holders. Still others produced "fake mandates" that they used to con some buyers with to give them hefty advances. We have some of the real mandate holders working with us.

In passing, today there are over 160 gold buyers and brokers now in Manila reminiscent of the 1983-85 years anticipating gold sales by FM heirs or this governments representatives. I understand a few "looseleaf" pieces of 75 kg. bars have already been sold.

Three schemes to sell the gold were conceived in this period. First, the CB Treasury bills method where gold buyers agreed to purchase CB Treasury bills equivalent to the amount of gold they were buying. Then they would redeem these CB T-bills for gold upon maturity of these notes. Second, the loan method where buyers guarantee to lend the GRP money equivalent to the gold they were buying. Using this second method, it could well be that many of our debts are not really debts but are already paid for in gold. How else can one explain the seemingly easy credit FM enjoyed with the ADB, the WB, and the IMF and their prime banks? And this could explain the cavalier spending of these loan proceeds for personal ends. Our sources say that the very top echelon of the WB and the IMF know of this. Why are they now putting on the screws for our loans? Possibly because we have not concluded YAB42. Third, the direct sale, method where after a while the sheer magnitude of the gold being sold could no longer be sanitized by either of the two methods described earlier outright sales agreements gold were negotiated.

We have a good deal of documentary evidence to prove that gold transactions were indeed negotiated by front organizations as well as legitimate banks in those years.

To highlight a few...

1. The YAB42 transaction. This was negotiated in late 1984, early 1985. As reported, this was initiated by the US government through the US Treasury and the CIA. Front organizations; and personalities were used to make the deal ostensibly a non-governmental transaction. Dr. Ole Bay (YAB is BAY backwards) was the main trustee of the buyers' group (A Trust Exchange Agreement and a Funding Trust Pay Order between seller and buyer in transaction code YAB42 are enclosed as Annex C). Navegacion Global SA, Dupont, and other CIA conduits were used.

Forty-two (42) other major trusts were tapped to help fund this purchase. Senior US officials even called FM to confirm the veracity of the mandate holder negotiating for "the seller." Close to 100 prime banks pledged their participation in helping fund the purchase. The US offered 20% cash or $200 billion through these trusts and banks and 80% in US government securities. Using the $200 billion cash as 20% of the transaction, this transaction would then involve 110,000 MT or over $1 trillion. The stock for this transaction appears to be the 38,000 MT in New York and the 72,000 MT in Ft. Knox which total exactly 110,000 MT. In June 1986, US government representatives reportedly asked FM to conclude YAB42 and turn over the 72,000 MT in Ft. Knox He declined. Earlier, FM signed over the 38,000 MT in New York which the US government found insufficient. In 1987, Navegacion Global's Bruce Bullock tried to make contact with this government, possibly to conclude this transaction.

2. In 1983-84, we have evidence of another transaction involving a minimum 62,000 MT up to a maximum of 81,000 MT negotiated with Frank Higdon, another reported CIA intermediary (Investment loans offered to the Philippine Government which is repayable with 62,321 MT of gold bars is enclosed as Annex D). The stock for this appears to be the 62,000 MT in 4 locations in mainland America plus the 18,300 MT in Citibank, New York. It is doubtful this transaction was consumwhated as these stocks have reportedly been recently verified to still be in place.

3. The JOB/HK/25 transaction. In 1983-84, 29,327 MT was reportedly sold to the 11 monarchs of Europe with over 120 prime banks participating with the Bank of England as the lead buyer's bank. The proceeds are allegedly sitting in ledger credits to the seller in the seller's banks and even in some buyer banks. The PNB Singapore and New York branches were actively involved in this transaction and the key officers of these banks then can reportedly identify where these seller credits are located. In commissions alone, there is a reported P200 B/$10 B commission for the transaction's brokers credited to the PNB through the CB sent from the Chemical Bank of New York. There is an additional $63 million in commissions for this transaction at the AMEX Bank in Hong Kong. The brokers who are claiming these commissions are with us providing us inforwhation on this deal and are willing to negotiate with this government

4. The Central Bank of the Philippines may not be able to balance their books as far as gold is concerned. A July report by a senior Central Bank official to the PCGG prompted by preliminary inforwhation on this project we passed on to the PCGG does not reconcile with other CB data we have on gold transactions for the 1984-85 period alone.

Further, our sources say that there is at least 5,000 MT of gold in the CB vaults in Manila and Quezon City. A recent Chronicle article indicates that COA may be getting some wind of this (The newspapers reports that Central Bank has violated audit standards such as under-recording of its actual gold acquisitions and the same is enclosed as Annex E). We have the GBC number of this gold in the CB vaults. Our sources say that senior CB officials may have begun to cover their tracks by moving the gold out or logging it under someone else's account number. Very simple, let us conduct a surprise physical count of the gold in both CB vaults. If this is true, without working on the rest of what we have uncovered, then this government will be richer by, $55 billion.

The original GBC was for seven sub-lots of 1,000 MT each. Sub lots 2 and 4 have already been disposed of leaving a balance 5,000 MT. Remember, our total annual gold production is only 60 MT and our declared gold reserves are possibly only in hundreds of metric tons.

5. We have evidence to support October 1983 transaction of 1,000 MT of FM gold deposited at a PCIB branch under FM trustee Alice Lazo (deceased). The buyer was Mr. Van Dreck of a organization called MERCANTUS (A PC Bank offer to sell gold to Mercantus International Establishment and an irrevocable Purchase Order by the latter are enclosed as Annex F). What business does a local bank have keeping and selling 1,000 MT of gold? Apparently, this transaction was consumated.

These are but some of the transactions we have been able to piece together We do have some documentary evidence, but our main sources are testimonies from the people who were actually involved in these transactions who are now cooperating with us.

VI. Evaluation and Assessment

We have substantial documentation that by their sheer volume indicate these gold transactions did take place.

More important, we now have in our protective custody, key actors that actually helped FM on an operational level. Their testimonies have helped us piece this extremely complex puzzle together. More importantly, they are Wiling to assist in the recovery effort of the government. They are key actors -- trustees, part-owners, signatories, umbrella members who could be vital in "unlocking" these accounts.

Why are they helping us? Partly out of a sense of patriotism. They are not rich -- many of their relatives are impoverished. They believe that it would be criminal to allow the nation to suffer in economic deprivation when something can be done relatively quickly to correct it. Quite frankly, they also hope for a just reward to be granted by this government for their assistance together with the necessary immunities from suit and documents to allow them to spend their reward or commission. This is one of the aspects needing your approval -- the amounts or percentages should be negotiated on a case to case basis depending on the assistance given and the amount to be recovered.

They have put their trust in me for the moment. Loyal FM and IRM henchmen would definitely not look kindly on their efforts to assist us.

We would have proceeded to develop this project further except that certain factors compelled me to bring this matter to your attention now.

First, FM died -- unleashing a host of now unpredictable events that may make purposive action on our end moot and academic. What was in his will? Will the umbrella or can the umbrella execute his will? What will IRM and his other relatives do? What will the host of account trustees and signatories do? What will the banks and depositories do? We are trying to ascertain the answers to some of these questions.

Second, the project has grown to a scope now requiring your knowledge, and to use an FM term, your "mandate" to proceed in directions you agree with. I am not funded for an operation of this scope. To develop this project to this point has cost nearly P300,000 of borrowed money. We now have our "assets" in various safehouses and lodging areas. Soon, one of our "assets' will go abroad to contact the umbrella's chairman to check the contents of FM's will and his willingness to help our government and our people. I am totally loyal to our people's interest through you and word may get to you from other sources that I am in touch with "loyalists." I need you to know what it is I am doing.

Third, you are scheduled to take your second state visit to the US next month. Some of our information may have impact on that visit. At the very least, you are appraised of what we have gathered to fathom any subtle messages that the US officials may send to you. At most, we may be able to put together enough conclusive data to allow you to bring the matter up to President Bush, if not in November at some other opportune moment.

What do we have as far as the recovery of FM's ill-gotten wealth? A few hundred million dollars from deals with overt FM cronies the sale of some identified FM assets (buildings, paintings, and other properties) and court cases here, in Switzerland, and in the United States.

Lately, there are those who propose a "master settlement" approach, meaning one negotiation with possibly IRM or the representatives FM. This "master settlement" may involve the return of FM's remains and/or some of his exiled relatives and henchmen. I agree with these conditions should be rejected at the moment for national security reasons. Also, one negotiation will not work because those that propose it are at best making "educated guesses" about the amount of the ill-gotten wealth that is the basis for negotiation. The PCGG has even recently proposed, holding public discussion groups to try to get more inforwhation on the whereabouts of the wealth and amounts involved.

Lastly, it is doubtful that IRM or any one of the FM heirs would know all or even most of his wealth much less make a full disclosure of what little they may know during these negotiations. A "master settlement" on the wealth by those that propose it presently may not result in a fair deal for our government

On the other hand, negotiated settlements on a case to case basis based on more precise intelligence inforwhation and with the cooperation of the principals involved (the trustees, banks/depositors) in a given case or account may lead to faster and fairer results for our government The ex-FM operatives we are talking to are not politically motivated and place no political pre-conditions (e.g. the return of FM's remains or relatives) on assisting us.

Even if a fraction of what we have uncovered is true, moving on it correctly and recovering some of it for our people could alter the course of our history.

VII. Proposed Courses of Action and Vital Considerations

1. Agree to a detailed presentation only to you or what we have uncovered to date.

2. Allow us to continue the project to pinpoint concrete action proposals for your approval.

In this regard, a reporting/feed back mechanism directly to you must be set up. Some funding support is also needed even at this preparatory stage.

3. The concrete action proposals will probably take the form of proposed negotiated settlements with the parties involved aimed at recovering FM's share for our government and our people. Each negotiated settlement will be different in nature. Some may even be on a country to country basis, requiring your direct intervention ( e.g. the US and some of the Asian countries). Most will be between specific banks, trustees, and signatories and our government. I will detail some possible negotiated settlement formulas when we get to meet

4. There are some action proposals that can be done here immediately like the Central Bank gold and the PNB/CB sale proceeds and commissions outlined earlier. Due to the sensitive nature of these actions and the possible involvement of senior officials of this and the previous government, I propose we discuss this in private.

5. On the local front, some of the trustees/owners/caretakers of the gold already discovered but stored here in our country have come to me to explore the possibilities of negotiated settlements. Initially, some 3,000 MT of gold has been offered. I have been told, if this succeeds, there is much more. I have asked that they bring me proof positive -- gold bars to show you and a visit by me to the site of the gold stockpile -- before I bring this whatter up to you for your consideration.

6. In all negotiated settlements, we must exact a commitment and activate a monitoring mechanism to ensure that the monies released to parties other than our government are not used to destabilize our government

7. Trust is a vital dimension to this undertaking! Our newfound "partners" -- the FM trustees, signatories, and caretakers have placed their trust in this government through me and you -- whom they believe I report to directly. Some of them have had "sad experiences" with others in our government, the details of which I would rather discuss privately. I ask in turn for your continued trust and guidance without which we cannot proceed with this task nor hope to succeed. Greater men than I have risked their names and reputations on parts of this puzzle -- some have failed, others have had dubious interests at heart. I find myself in a situation where I must try to see this through its conclusions -- because success means a better life for all of us.

CONRADO A. LIMCAOCO, JR.

NOTE- The small stocks being referred to here by Mr. Limcaoco are actually the so-called unrecorded accounts of Imelda and FM's children. I was earlier told by one trustee that some of these smaller stocks were a part of Mrs-Marcos' compromise deal with the US. Government, in exchange for her acquittal in the New York court.

The photocopy of Mr. Limcaoco's letter to Pres. Cory Aquino was given to me by a RAM officer who is now living, in the U.S.A. and had a role to play among Col. Red Kapunan's group who took over Channel 4 at the height of the 1989 RAM-SFP-YOU coup d'etat. Some concerned citizens at hotel coffee shops have circulated other similar photocopies.

Even the defunct Newsday dated February 27, 1990 printed the same.

Limcaoco's Gold Recovery Program had successfully controlled the part of the Marcos gold specifically that taken from the Napindan Channel. This was the very reason why the Yellow Army particularly saw to it that Channel 4 should be the first target area to recover. The barricades erected surrounding the TV station's perimeter were dismantled only after "the loot" had been successfully brought out and transferred to "safer" ground. Thus, the persuasion flight of the U. S. Phantom Jet.

At this point, I would like to reiterate the misconception that the Marcos gold was the Yamashita treasure. The mere mention of Sta. Romana's name and other long existing gold accounts as having never been moved until the time Marcos gained control over them, including those at Fort Knox, strongly confirms that the Marcos gold had been successfully amassed from different sources.

`LOSS WEIGHT NOW!

FERDINAND MARCOS 100BILLION DOLLAR GOLD CONTRACT

2011-10-06T22:40:00.000-07:00

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Efforts to Recover Assets Looted by Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines

2011-10-05T04:03:00.000-07:00

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Intermediate Training Programme on Asset Tracing, Recovery and Repatriation, Jakarta, September 2007
Background paper
Chronology (draft

Efforts to Recover Assets Looted by Ferdinand
Marcos of the Philippines
(August 2007)
Sample of overview observations made by commentators
• The Marcos family case clearly illustrates how difficult it is for the successor government of a kleptocrat
regime to regain ownership of stolen assets.
• Having unrestricted access to the assets enables the accused to fend off legal proceedings for decades and to
deplete the funds by enjoying a lavish lifestyle. The Marcos family (Ferdinand Marcos, who died in 1989, his
wife Imelda Marcos, who remains alive and contests all claims to this day, and their children) have skillfully
deployed their assets (allegedly between USD 5 and 10 billion) with the aid of attorneys while still living lives
of great privilege.
• In the opinion of the Government of the Philippines, it faced a difficult task in recovering the assets on
account of the highly intricate and secretive nature of the Marcos network of accounts. It was lucky to have
the so-called Malacañang documents
2
to guide it to at least a part of the stolen Marcos assets. The Swiss
Government decided in principle to block Marcos' assets. It mandated the Swiss Banking Commission (EBK)
to ask the banks what Marcos assets they were holding. This led to a precise overview of Marcos
funds/accounts. When the international mutual legal assistance request arrived, the relevant accounts were
effectively blocked. They could then be compared with the information supplied by the EBK.
• The Philippine Government's efforts were hampered by the fact that the Philippine Presidential Commission
on Good Government (PCGG), the agency established to recover the Marcos assets, was new to the task and
could not draw upon established tools and procedures.
• Newly introduced was also the Swiss Federal Act on International Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Act
on International Criminal Assistance, IMAC): the Swiss lawyers Salvioni, Fontanet and Leuenberger, who had
been appointed by the PCGG in March 1986, had to apply a new Swiss law, in force as from January 1, 1983,
with no guidelines, no case law, and no special instructions. It helped in this situation that the Federal
Department of Justice offered much assistance and that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court confirmed, in most
cases, the decisions of the lower courts in favour of the Philippines.
• Additional difficulties arose from the fact that there was continued political support for the Marcos family after
they fled the Philippines and from various individuals of the Philippines elite who had benefited from their
corrupt system and who therefore remained loyal to them. The fact that Imelda Marcos was elected
congresswoman, and Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos' son, Ferdinand Jr., was elected congressman, illustrates
the support they still had in the Philippines.
• Conflicts of interest arose both within the class of plaintiffs that won damages for human rights abuses from
the Marcos family in the USA, concerning how best to actually receive the money, as well as between the

1
This chronology is work in progress and continues to be open to inputs from experts and other involved and concerned parties.
Comments can be submitted by email to icar@baselgovernance.org
2
Documents retrieved from the Malacañang Presidential Palace after end of the Marcos regime, detailing financial arrangement
between Marcos and Swiss banks. 2
government and said parties, concerning the use of the repatriated assets. A key problem in this context was
that in violation of the national sovereignty of the Philippines the US Courts had decided how and to whom
the money blocked in the US should be paid.
• More generally, the competing interests involved - those of the Marcos family, the human rights abuse
victims, the Philippine Government - created a degree of complexity for the courts, including issues of
national sovereignty and balancing of interests, and resulted in a risk of double liability for financial
institutions involved.
• The Swiss authorities involved in the repatriation attempts followed the law by the letter, on the one hand,
but on the other hand also arrived at groundbreaking interpretations which brought the case of the Philippine
Government forward. Before the introduction of the Swiss Federal Act on International Criminal Assistance,
IMAC in 1983, Switzerland could not provide international mutual legal assistance without a mutual legal
assistance treaty. In 1986 the Marcos case became the first case under the new law.
Pre-Marcos Philippines
1500 to 1898 Spanish rule, the Philippines named after King Philip II of Spain.
1898-1946 American colonial period.
1946 The Philippines gains its independence from the United States.
Marcos era
11 September 1917 Marcos born in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte Province, Luzon. Studies law.
1939 Marcos arrested in connection with murder of political rival of his father. Found
guilty.
1940 Marcos appeals conviction for murder, representing himself. Appeal upheld and
conviction overturned. Works as a trial lawyer in Manila.
1941-45 Officer in the Philippine armed forces during the Second World War.
1946 Works in Manila law practice, is also assistant to Philippine President Manuel Roxas
y Acuna (1947).
1949 Marcos elected to the Philippine Parliament (Liberal Party). Re-elected 1953.
Reported to use political influence for personal enrichment.
1 May 1954 Marries Imelda Romualdez.
1957 Re-elected. Moves to Senate in 1959, becomes opposition leader in Parliament.
1961 Head of Liberal Party. Senate president (1963).
1964 Switches allegiance to Nationalista Party.
1965 Marcos is elected President of the Philippines in November 1965, promising
improved living conditions and land reform. Helps found Association of Southeast
Asian Nations ASEAN in 1967.
1969 Marcos wins second four-year term as President.
1970 Social unrest. Student demonstrators attempt to storm Malacañang Presidential
Palace. Marcos blames leftists and suspends habeas corpus (August 1971) as
prelude to martial law.
21 September 1972 Marcos declares martial law, using alleged assassination attempt against defense
minister Juan Ponce Enrile as excuse. Later it is revealed that assassination attempt 3
was staged by the military.
1973-1985 New constitution allows Marcos to stay in office indefinitely and rule by decree. His
wife, Imelda Marcos, made Governor of Manila and Minister of Human Settlements
and Ecology. Manufacturing and business enterprises nationalized or handed to
Marcos cronies or relatives. Profits siphoned off for personal enrichment and
mismanagement rife. Army officers appointed to manage several corporations and
military ordered to take control of all public utilities and the media. Civilian courts
stripped of power and autonomy. Salaries in real terms half as much as 1956, share
of the national income held by the wealthiest 10% increases from 27% to 37%.
17 January 1981 Marcos officially lifts martial law, but government retains power to arrest and
detain.
1981 Opposition boycotts presidential elections, Marcos wins.
1983 Opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. assassinated at Manila airport upon return to
the Philippines from exile.
February 1986 Opposition unites under Corazon Aquino, widow of Benigno Aquino Jr., for snap
presidential election. Marcos declared official winner. International observers
denounce official result. General Fidel Ramos and defense minister Juan Ponce
Enrile withdraw support for Marcos. Peaceful civilian-military uprising (the EDSA
Revolution, named after Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Manila where crucial
revolutionary events took place) forces Marcos from office.
25 February 1986 Corazon Aquino is sworn in as President of the Philippines, whereupon Marcos
family flees the Philippines on same day. Marcos said to be carrying suitcases
containing jewels, 24 gold bricks and certificates for billions of dollars of gold
bullion upon arrival in Hawaii (catalogued by United States customs service in an
inventory dated 10 March 1986).
Post-Marcos era
1986-1992 Corazon Aquino presidency.
25 February 1986 Swiss bank accounts in Marcos’ name estimated to contain more than USD 3 billion
stolen from his country. At the same time, the Philippines' foreign debt stands at
about
USD 28 billion. Through a request filed by Swiss lawyers, Salvioni, Fontanat and
Leuenberger (in the following: Salvioni et al.), it is possible to freeze about USD 356
million of the Marcos fortune in Switzerland that have been discovered thanks to
the documents that Marcos, his family and his staff had lost in the presidential
palace during their flight (so-called Malacañang documents).
28 February 1986 The Philippine Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) formed by
Presidential order no. 1 (three days after Marcos fled)
3
to recover Marcos-linked
assets in the Philippines and abroad. According to Jovito Salonga, first chairman of
the PCGG, Marcos loot came primarily from:
• diverted foreign economic aid,
• US government military aid, including huge discretionary funds at Marcos
disposal, as a 'reward' for sending some Filipino troops to Vietnam, and
• kickbacks from public works contracts.
What is said to have distinguished Marcos from other corrupt Filipino politicians was

3
http://www.pcgg.gov.ph/id28.htm4
his particularly long period in office and the scale of his corruption.
11 March 1986 PCGG letter orders the Central Bank of the Philippines (CBP) to freeze Marcos' and
cronies' assets. CBP successor Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) says CBP
transmitted PCGG letter to banks, with memorandum asking for their "cooperation".
PCGG has power to freeze or "sequester" suspect assets. (cf. 13 May 2003 below.)
12 March 1986 President Corazon Aquino passes Executive Order no. 2, freezing all Marcos assets
in the Philippines.
4
24 March 1986 The Swiss Federal Council imposes an unprecedented unilateral and exceptional
freeze order on Marcos assets (executive seizure), after it was informed by a Swiss
bank that De Guzman, a Filipino banker with power of attorney from Ferdinand and
Imelda Marcos, had requested the transfer of assets out of Switzerland to an
Austrian bank belonging to him and to former cronies of Marcos. Swiss Banking
Commission is mandated to find out which banks are holding Marcos assets. The
Swiss Federal Council states that it acted in anticipation of the Philippine
governmental claims.
5
At this point there is no mutual legal assistance treaty on criminal matters between
Switzerland and the Philippines, so Swiss cooperation is based mainly on the Swiss
Federal Act on International Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Act on
International Criminal Assistance, IMAC).
6
The fact that the Swiss freeze order
precedes the Filipino mutual legal assistance request leads to a controversy in
Switzerland concerning the 'rule of law'.
7
7 April 1986 The Philippine Government requests mutual legal assistance from Swiss authorities
under the Swiss Federal Act IMAC on the basis of the "Malacañang documents".
The government requests the continuation of the provisional freeze order, which
would otherwise lapse.
The Malacañang documents led the Philippine Government to believe that Marcos
had accumulated illicit wealth amounting to USD 5 billion, and that USD 1 billion
thereof is in Swiss bank accounts.
It is later established by Swiss authorities that the MLA request had a "congenital"
deficiency, as it was "indeterminate and generic". In the end the MLA request only
succeeds in getting banking documents relating to the Marcos deposits released,
and that, too, only under specific conditions.
8
(See 21 December 1990 below.)
The Malacañang documents also lead the Philippine Government to press criminal

4
http://www.pcgg.gov.ph/id29.htm
5
See Communiqué as reproduced in NZZ, a Swiss newspaper, Fernausgabe Nr. 71 of 27.3.1986, p. 13 stating that "Der Bundesrat
hat beschlossen, in der Schweiz liegende Vermögenswerte irgendwelcher Art, welche von der Familie Marcos, von ihr
nahestehenden Personen oder Gesellschaften u.ä. gehalten werden, vorsorglich bis auf weiteres zu sperren. Am Montag
[24.3.1986] hat der Bundesrat Hinweise erhalten, dass von Seiten des philippinischen Ex-Präsidenten Marcos versucht wird,
Gelder aus der Schweiz abzuziehen. Am Mittwoch [26.3.1986] wird ein Beauftragter der neuen philippinischen Regierung in Bern
erwartet, welcher sich nach deren rechtlichen Möglichkeiten erkundigen will, ihre Ansprüche geltend zu machen. In dieser
Situation hat der Bundesrat bereits am Montag [24.3.1986] an sechs Banken eine Verfügung erlassen, wonach allenfalls in der
Schweiz liegende Vermögenswerte Vorsorglich zu sperren sind, und dies auch der Bankiervereinigug mitgeteilt. Er wird das
weitere Vorgehen in seiner nächsten Sitzung festlegen.". See also Communiqué, "Vorsorgliche Blockierung der Marcos-Gelder in
der Schweiz", as reprinted in Dagmar Richter, "Potentatengelder in der Schweiz: Rechtshilfe im Spannungsfeld der
Menschenrechte von Tätern und Opfern", The Heidelberg Journal of International Law 1998, p. 18, available at
http://www.zaoerv.de/58_1998/58_1998_1_a_541_610.pdf.
6
Bundesgesetz über internationale Rechtshilfe in Strafsachen (Rechtshilfegesetz, IRSG), adopted 20 March 1981,
www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/351_1/index.html (German); www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/351_1/index.html (French).
7
See 86.482 - Interpellation, Marcos-Gelder in der Schweiz, eingerichted von Fisher Theo,
http://www.parlament.ch/afs/data/d/gesch/1986/d_gesch_19860482_002.htm (in German or French).
8
See the Republic of the Philippines' statement on asset recovery, delivered by Tanodbayan Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez,
Ombudsman of the Republic of the Philippines, at the First Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations
Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), Jordan, 10-14 December 2006.5
charges against Marcos.
7 April 1986 Invoking Alien Tort Act, a Filipino "Society of Ex-Detainees for Liberation from
Detention and for Amnesty" (SELDA), representing around 10'000 Filipinos, files a
case against Marcos in the United States District Court of Hawaii for human rights
violations committed against them or their relatives.
1986 Hawaii District Court dismisses case, arguing that Marcos has privilege of immunity.
SELDA lead counsel Robert Swift and his cp-counsel Jose Mari Velez appeal to US
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
18 April 1986 The Philippine Government makes informal request for continuation of freeze order
in Switzerland.
23 April 1986 Exceptional freeze order rescinded.
25 April 1986 The Philippine Government formally requests continuation of freeze order through a
diplomatic note.
7 July 1986 Swiss Federal Office of Police Matters (FOPM) defreezes Marcos deposits.
20 July 1986 FOPM refreezes Marcos deposits.
1987
1 July 1987 Judgement by Swiss Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne allows MLA to the
Philippines. This was preceded by massive opposition by Marcos and others (incl.
Swiss Banks) to this provision of MLA.
9
1988
21 October 1988 A US federal grand jury in New York indicts Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos for a USD
268 million racketeering scheme, including looting the Philippine treasury of USD
103 million and defrauding US banks of USD 165 million.
31 October 1988 Imelda Marcos arraigned in court by US federal grand jury for offences including
mail fraud, fraudulent misappropriation of property and obstruction of justice;
pleads not guilty. Ferdinand Marcos excused for health reasons.
3 November 1988 Imelda Marcos allowed to return to Honolulu after American millionairess Doris
Duke puts up more than USD 5 million in bail.
1989
1989 The Government of the Philippines brings court cases against Marcos in the United
States District Court for the Central District of California and the United States
District Court for the District of Hawaii. These civil cases were dropped by the
government when the Marcos family agreed to transfer to the Philippine
Government certain assets held in the US.
10

9
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court judgment, ATF 113 lb 257, 1 July 1987 (done in French, synopsis in German).
10
See David Chaikin, "Tracking the proceeds of organized crime – the Marcos case", Paper presented at a conference on
transnational crime, convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology in association with the Australian Federal Police and the
Australian Customs Service, Canberra (Australia), 9-10 March 2000, supra note 2, p. 5, footnote 11.6
28 September 1989 Marcos dies of a heart attack in exile in Honolulu, Hawaii.
December 1989 PCGG enters into finder's fee contract (for 10%) with Australian investigator Reiner
Jacobi to search for suspected Marcos accounts in Switzerland.
1990
March 1990 Imelda Marcos brought to trial by US federal grand jury in New York but acquitted
on all counts in July. Faces further trials in the Philippines for misappropriation of
public funds, but is not convicted.
10 December 1990 Swiss Federal Supreme Court judgment on the request of assistance filed by Swiss
lawyers Salvioni et al.
20 December 1990 Swiss Federal Supreme Court accepts that in principle the frozen assets should be
returned to the Philippines.
21 December 1990 Swiss Federal Supreme Court orders transmission of Swiss banking documents
pertaining to Marcos deposits to the Philippine Government, under the following
conditions over which PCGG expresses disappointement
11
:
• The transfer would take place without an exequatur-proceeding but
delayed until an executory decision of the Sandiganbayan
12
or of another
court having jurisdiction over criminal matters will have been submitted.
• The transmission is deferred until an executory decision of the
Sandiganbayan or another Philippine Court legally competent in criminal
matters concerning their restitution to those entitled or their restitution or
their confiscation is presented within one year, failing which the
attachment of the assets shall be lifted on the request of the interested
parties.
• Imelda Marcos would be accorded due process of law, and that the
proceedings comply with the Swiss federal constitution and the European
Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
(See also 10 August 1995 below.)
1991
1991 The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issues a ruling in favor of the Marcos
victims in the SELDA case submitted on 7 April 1986, reversing earlier Federal Court
decision.
June-July 1991 Co-counsel Velez dies, replaced by Romeo Capulong, who questions lack of written
agreement between SELDA and Robert Swift. Different interpretations of input
required and rewards to be reaped (fees, compensation for victims) leads to
relations between SELDA and Swift starting to go sour.
1991 PCGG chairman David Castro lends support to Jacobi's covert "Operation Domino",
which seeks to locate undocumented Marcos accounts. Operation continues for

11
See the Swiss Federal Supreme Court judgment, ATF 116 lb 452, 21 December 1990 (done in French, synopsis in German). See
also the Philippines asset recovery statement, supra note 7.
12
The Sandiganbayan is a special Filipino court with "jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices
and other offenses committed by public officers and employees, including those in government-owned or controlled
corporations". (See also http://sandigan.supremecourt.gov.ph/index.html)7
years before being abandoned.
However results in a criminal investigation by the Zurich district attorney into
Jacobi's and an associated informant's activities. The district attorney requests
Jacobi's extradition from Germany on charges of economic espionage. The Munich
Higher Regional Court rejects the request on 17 July 1991.
13
(See note at 17
December 1991 below.)
19 July 1991 The Zurich district attorney suspends international legal assistance in relation to the
Marcos case on account of "serious violation of the sovereignty of the canton of
Zurich, and of the contempt of the provisions governing letters rogatory". The
Philippine Government thereupon cancels Jacobi's official appointment.
17 December 1991 PCGG files civil case no. 141 in Sandiganbayan seeking to recover Marcos properties
and assets, just four days before the 21 December 1991 deadline imposed by Swiss
Federal Supreme Court judgment of 21 December 1990. Delay was partially caused
by Swiss review of banking documents, in order to protect "non-participatory third
parties", which resulted in editing and initial non-transmission of some documents.
Furthermore, Swiss lawyers are not permitted to gather evidence on behalf of
foreign clients, so the three lawyers the PCGG hired (Salvioni et al.) were
handicapped. Finally, the PCGG itself apparently did not carry out the requisite
international tracing exercises.
1992
11 May 1992 Defense secretary Fidel V. Ramos, endorsed by Aquino, wins presidential elections,
declares "national reconciliation" highest priority. Imelda Marcos also ran for the
presidency, came fifth in a seven-way race.
9 September 1992 The SELDA class action suit filed on 7 April 1986 comes to trial in the Hawaii District
Court, having been consolidated with two direct-action cases. The case is dealt with
in three parts, addressing liability, exemplary damages and compensatory damages.
22 September 1992 Hawaii District Court issues judgment in favor of Marcos victims, finding Marcos
committed gross human rights violations and the estate of Marcos liable to pay
damages to the victims.
24 September 1992 Plaintiffs win a favorable liability verdict. (See 23 February 1994 and January 1995
below for further judgments.)
1993
1993 Marcos' embalmed body returned to the Philippines and placed on permanent
display in a home town mausoleum.
SELDA seeks recognition from Hawaii District Court as organization to represent
victims and guide lead lawyer in negotiations. SELDA Counsel Robert Swift opposes
his own clients' motion in court.
8 March 1993 Swiss Federal Supreme Court passes judgment on the admissibility of an appeal to
the Federal Administrative Court against a decision of the Federal Police Office

13
An English version of the German extradition judgment of 17 July 1991 is available at
http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Jacobi_Reiner_27063081.aspx8
establishing a "leading canton" in the Marcos case.
14

28 December 1993 Ramos government enters into 75%/25% sharing agreement with Marcos family
through PCGG chairman Magtanggol Gunigundo. (See 9 December 1998 below.)
1994
23 February 1994 The jury in the SELDA case in Hawaï awards USD 1.2 billion in exemplary damages.
(See January 1995 below for further judgments.) The decision is based on UN
Convention against Torture and on Alien Tort Claims Act or Alien Tort Statute (antipirate law of 1789, allows suits against people living in and businesses registered in
USA for crimes committed abroad).
22 October 1994 Some SELDA members form Claimants 1081, a breakaway claimants group led by
Etta Rosales. Many claimants became confused, as rival groups issued contradictory
statements, all "on behalf of the victims".
1995
1995 Imelda Marcos elected congresswoman and son Ferdinand Jr. elected congressman.
18 January 1995 The jury in the Hawaii case, in addition to a separate judgment that was concluded
in February 1994 and in which USD 1.2 billion were awarded in exemplary
damages, awards approximately USD 750 million in compensatory damages.
On appeal by Imelda Marcos, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit upholds the judgments for (together) nearly USD 2 billion in exemplary and
compensatory damages to thousands of surviving victims. As there are no funds
available to fulfill the award, the court attempts to fulfill it with Marcos funds frozen
in Swiss bank accounts via the California branches of Swiss banks - a violation of
Swiss sovereignty.
Victims later enter into a compromise agreement with the Marcos family for a USD
150 million settlement, with the Philippine government undertaking to allow the
release of said amount from the Philippine National Bank (PNB) escrow account, but
the Sandiganbayan finds the agreement to be contrary to public policy and the
proposed funding to be without any legal basis.
The Hawaii court terminates the settlement in 2001.
Based on the reparations judgment in Hawaii, SELDA Counsel Robert Swift claimed
USD 500 million share of the total damages payable to Filipino torture victims.
Attempts to get hold of funds (blocked in Schweizerischer Bankverein (now UBS)
and Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (now Credit Suisse) since Marcos' fall) prove
difficult.
10 August 1995 Petition for "anticipatory restitution" pursuant to the exception under paragraph 74a
of the Swiss Federal Act on International Criminal Assistance, IMAC submitted by
the Philippine Government to a Zurich district attorney, seeking modification of the
Swiss Federal Supreme Court judgment of 21 December 1990. The aim was to
enable the assets to be transferred under escrow before the rendering of a final
judgment in the Philippines.
15

14
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court judgment ATF 119 lb 56, 8 March 1993 (done in French, synopsis in German).
15
See Philippines asset recovery statement, Jordan 2006, supra note 7.9
21 August 1995 Zurich district attorney issues unprecedented order partially modifying 21 December
1990 judgment and ordering "anticipatory transfer" of assets.
16
1995 End 1995 Robert Swift obtains court order for confiscation of funds held in US
branches of the Swiss banks involved equal to amount of Marcos wealth blocked in
Switzerland. UBS and Credit Suisse are thus at risk of having to pay the money out
twice, once in context of international legal assistance to Philippine Government (in
Switzerland) and a second time in favor of the Filipino torture victims (in the USA).
13 September 1995 PCGG chairman Gunigundo and Robert Swift sign a memorandum of agreement for
compromise with Ramos government, accepting a USD 100 million (USD 50 million
from Marcoses and USD 50 million from government's claim on Swiss deposits) in
exchange for dropping class action ("...dismissing with prejudice, all execution
proceedings, commenced by plaintiffs"), possibly granting the Marcos family
immunity from future suits, and dropping all criminal and civil suits against them.
SELDA condemned the Swift-Gunigundo agreement as illegal and immoral, leading
to Ramos not signing the agreement.
17
1996
1996 Swift's request for release of Swiss deposits denied because the civil attachment he
obtained can not prevail over the Republic’s criminal attachment over stolen assets.
All Filipino torture victims' claims to share of the Marcos funds categorically
repudiated until 1996 by banks and Swiss Government, as funds blocked on
account of international legal assistance by Switzerland to the Philippines. The
Philippine Government was making efforts to repatriate funds to the Philippines. It
assumed - in contrast to the Marcos family - that it was dealing with wealth Marcos
had diverted from the Philippine exchequer and deposited abroad. The two
opposing parties' divergent demands led to legal and political negotiations
progressing slowly over many years.
January 1996 Banks invited representatives of the Philippine and Swiss governments, Marcos
family and torture victims to mediation in Hong Kong to arrive at an out-of-court
settlement. No result was achieved.
December 1996 Imelda Marcos' appeal denied by US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Court
affirms earlier decision favoring 10,000 victims.
1997
March 1997 US Supreme Court lets Appeal Court decision stand. This final decision rendered the
class action suit a legal precedent in the history of international human rights
jurisprudence which can be invoked by human rights victims the world over.
25 May 1997 Robert Swift files motion through Filipino lawyers in Makati Regional Trial Court for
court enforcement of a foreign judgment, as attempt to oust SELDA from the class
action suit.
10 December 1997 Swiss Federal Supreme Court takes a decisive step out of stale-

16
See fn 19 supra.
17
According to the Society of Ex-Detainees for Liberation from Detention and for Amnesty SELDA. See
http://www.philonline.com.ph/~krptn/Campaigns/mdl840/mdl840.html10
to January 1998
18
mate by issuing decision to transfer contested USD 540 million of Marcos loot to
custody of Sandiganbayan. These are the funds originally frozen in Switzerland as a
consequence of the Philippine Government's asset recovery efforts that resulted
from the Malacañang documents. The original USD 540 million later grew to
USD 658 million on account of interest when they finally reach the Philippines in
2003 and are placed in a PNB escrow account.
The Philippine Government request for anticipatory restitution of frozen assets was
possible under the Swiss Federal Act on International Criminal Assistance, IMAC.
This revised law makes it in principle essential for the country to which the funds
are to be restituted to prove the illegal origin and the legal owner of the funds with
a legally binding judgment. In its judgment of 10 December 1997, the Swiss
Federal Supreme Court fully exploited room for maneuver available in the revised
law, in order to make the transfer of the Marcos wealth to the Philippines possible
even without a binding legal judgment, under the condition that the Philippine
Government "inform the Swiss authorities of the current status and to regularly
inform it of substantive developments [...] concerning provisions and procedures for
the payment of reparations to the victims of human rights violations under the
Marcos regime"
19
, amongst other things.
20
The Republic of the Philippines guarantees that the decision about the seizure or
restitution of the assets to the entitled parties would be taken in judicial
proceedings which satisfy the procedural guarantees as established in art. 14 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 16, 1966 (ICCPR).
New aspect: Swiss Federal Supreme Court ascertained that the Philippines
proceedings satisfied relevant human rights principles, and based its decision not
solely on Swiss legislation and on the Swiss Federal Act on International Criminal
Assistance, IMAC. , but also gave similar weight, if not more, to Switzerland's and
the Philippines’ international obligations. In this respect, the Swiss government
stated that "respecting human rights specifically belongs [to these obligations], and
the civil service and the courts, as the executive bodies of the international legal
system, are called upon to implement it".
21
This decision closed gap in
interpretation of national and international legal norms which had blocked Marcos
case for years.
However, obstacles to implementing these court decisions remained: According to
Hawaiian judgment, Filipino torture victims are to be compensated from Marcos
estate. Legitimate claim contained formal dilemma: funds in Switzerland are not
part of the Marcos heirs' private estate, but have been stolen from the Philippines.
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court circumvented dilemma by reminding the
Philippine Government (with reference to the UN Convention against Torture) of the
rights of the victims of human rights violations to seek redress before a court. This
led to substantial legal and political battles in the Philippines concerning
reconciliation of the liability of the Marcos estate for payment of the judgment of
the Hawaii case and the compliance obligations under the ICCPR.
Question concerning who should pay the 10’000 plaintiffs in the SELDA case very
closely linked to question of how the funds transferred from Switzerland to an
escrow account in the Philippines should be used. In this regard, two substantial

18
Two judgments on 10 December 1997, six judgments on 7 January and two judgments on 15 January 1998.
19
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court judgments: BGE 123 II 595, 10 December 1997, as well as of the 19th and 22nd of December
1997 (done in German, synopsis is in French), also available from ICAR - Auszug aus dem Marcos Urteil, 10 December 1997.
20
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court judgment, BGE 123 II 595, 10 December 1997 (done in German, synopsis in French).
21
Ibid. In this context the Swiss Federal Supreme Court referred, amongst other things, to an interesting article by Daniel Thürer,
«Internationales "Rule of Law" - innerstaatliche Demokratie» ["International 'Rule of Law' - National Democracy"], in the Swiss
Journal for International and European Law [Schweizerische Zeitschrift für internationales and europäisches Recht], no. 4/1995,
at p. 455-478, and p. 471 in particular.11
positions were held:
First position held, amongst others, by the Government of the Philippines, is that
recovered funds belong to state in their entirety (tied to agricultural reform by a
law passed precisely for this purpose). Hawaii judgment obliges Marcos family to
pay reparations.
Second position demands USD 150 million of blocked funds for reparation
payments. This position was held primarily by representatives of torture victims,
based on (controversial) agreement between the US torture victims' lawyer, Robert
Swift, Marcos family and the Philippine Government, and on commitments made by
the Philippine Government to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.)
1998
11 May 1998 Joseph Estrada elected President of the Philippines. Imelda Marcos' presidential bid
previously withdrawn in favor of friend and ally Estrada. Election of Estrada signals
start of re-ascendance of the Marcos family and cronies. Estrada's governance
considered wayward. Popularity soon declines amid allegations of cronyism and
corruption.
April/June/July 1998 Marcos funds confiscated in Switzerland arrive in the Philippines and are placed in
PNB escrow account (custody of Sandiganbayan), pending final ownership decision.
29 June 1998 Sandiganbayan finds Imelda Marcos guilty of charge of “entering into an agreement
disadvantageous to the government”. Supreme Court reverses decision on appeal,
reasoning that Sandiganbayan Justice Francis Gatchitorena was biased.
7 August 1998 Article 5, Part III of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights
and International Humanitarian Law, signed by President Estrada, stipulates
responsibility of government to recognize and respect rights of victims for justice
and indemnification. Victims to be given the first 30% of the PNB escrow deposit.
14 September 1998 President Estrada promises a USD 171 million "Christmas gift" for 9,539 victims of
human rights violations during the Marcos regime.
28 September 1998 Settlement conference in US regarding indemnification of Marcos' victims, attended
by Robert Swift but not by SELDA.
October 1998 Imelda Marcos acquitted of graft charges in the Philippines.
9 December 1998 Philippine Supreme Court declares agreement of 28 December 1993 invalid, under
which the PCGG had agreed with the Marcos family on a 75%-25% split of the
money held on the escrow account.
December 1998/ President Estrada still studying "possibility of giving immunity to
January 1999 Marcos family".
1999
25 February 1999 Announcement of settlement and compromise between Estrada, Swift and the
Marcos family, hailed as "final victory" by Swift and Claimants 1081.
SELDA rejects agreement; states that there has been no consultation with victims,
nor transparency in negotiations; that the agreement virtually grants the Marcos
family and the government immunity and exonerates the Marcos family; and that,
while the process for lawyers to get their fees is clearly determined, it remains
vague as to how the victims will be indemnified. 12
June 1999 Philippine Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations
("Blue Ribbon committee") inquires into "alleged existence of PCGG-Swiss bankers'
conspiracy to hide and divide the Marcos wealth".
November 1999 From 1986 to November 1999, PCGG files a total of 852 cases before various courts
and enters into 33 compromise settlements with various Marcos cronies, in
exchange for either information or the surrender of ill-gotten property.
2000
May 2000 Salonga alleges that President Joseph Estrada "had been peddling the myth" that
nothing has been recovered even before taking office in 1998, "in the desire to
convince the nation that it would be better to reach a compromise agreement with
the Marcos family rather than incur more litigation expenses."
September 2000 Filipino anti-corruption court Sandiganbayan's first division makes prima facie
decision that entire USD 627 million of Marcos funds that had been repatriated from
Switzerland were to be considered property of the Philippines. Rejects any
agreement for torture victims to receive a share ”for lack of legal basis”. Thus
blocked monies have to be used for agricultural reform. Decision contested by
Marcos family. (cf. also 1 February 2002 below)
Filipino human rights organizations are split into two factions, some (supported by
Swift) want to reach settlement with all parties concerned, including Marcos family,
in order to obtain reparation payments. Vehemently opposed by other side as a
betrayal of the rights of the victims and of the principles involved.
22
September 2000 Class of human rights victims files a case against Merrill Lynch in Hawaii, alleging
that it is holding Marcos assets in the name of Arelma Inc, a Panamanian
corporation.
21 September 2000 Merrill Lynch files interpleader action covering assets of Arelma (now approximately
USD 35 million), to avoid having to defend itself against the class lawsuit, for which
human rights victims were impleaded, together with the Philippines, the PCGG, the
estate of Roger Roxas, Golden Budha (sic) Corp, the Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos,
among other defendants.
October 2000 Estrada accused of taking millions of pesos in illegal gambling business payoffs.
Impeached but trial in senate breaks down when senate votes to block examination
of president's bank records. Massive street protests for Estrada's resignation.
2001
20 January 2001 Armed forces withdraw support for Estrada; he is forced from office.
Vice-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (daughter of late president Diosdado
Macapagal) sworn in as successor on day of Estrada’s departure.
2002
1 February 2002 Five Sandiganbayan special division justices reverse ruling of first division of

22
According to Catharine MacKinnon, it is detailed in the Sandiganbayan's judgment that, of lawyers fees amounting to a total of
USD 40 million envisaged, approx. USD 34 million alone would go to the law offices of US lawyer Robert Swift.13
September 2000, contested by Marcos family. The court said the government had
not complied with the rules on authentication of documents. PCGG represents
government.
Recovery of other funds (if any) remains in question.
August 2002 Haydee Yorac, 11th chair of PCGG, reported to have said that government has
recovered about USD 2 billion.
23
Yorac said that when she assumed office, records at the commission were in
disarray and many documents missing. She also said she suspected corruption of
former lawyers and officials was another reason for the slow pace of recovery.
31 December 2002 PNB reports escrow account of Marcos family at the PNB now contains USD 676
million (on account of interest).
2003
2003 West LB, a Singapore Bank confronted with competing claims for money originally
hidden by Marcos, deposits money to the Singapore High Court. The Philippine
Government asserts that it was awarded the money by the Philippine Supreme
Court in July 2003.
13 May 2003 Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has no authority to freeze or even examine bank
accounts of the Marcos family and his cronies. PCGG has to secure prior order from
Sandiganbayan anti-graft court to freeze or "sequester" suspect assets. (Cf. 11
March 1986 above).
11 July 2003 Marcos deposits held in escrow by the PNB cannot be used for anything other than
the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme in 2004 budget, as repatriated
Marcos monies have been earmarked for agrarian reform under the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law (CARL). Should the need arise to use the funds for a different
purpose, then this could only be achieved through an amendment of the CARL.
15 July 2003 Philippine Supreme Court rules that the funds transferred from Switzerland are illgotten and must therefore be handed over to the Philippine Government,
confirming the Swiss Federal Supreme Court's decision concerning the illegitimate
origin of the funds. The money is to be used to buy land for distribution to poor
farmers. Marcos family immediately appeals the decision.
5 August 2003 Swiss and Filipino authorities express their satisfaction over the positive conclusion
of the Marcos case. No more decisions are expected from the Swiss authorities in
this matter now
24
. Both governments are of the opinion that following the Philippine
Supreme Court ruling of the 15
th
of July 2003, the funds transferred from
Switzerland and located in a PNB escrow account since 1998 can now be
transferred into the care of the government of the Philippines.
In a parliamentary query to the Swiss governement submitted on 18 March 2004,
Swiss member of parliament Remo Gysin questions this in light of the fact that no
provision was taken to compensate the victims of the Marcos regime's human rights
abuses. In response to this parliamentary query, the Swiss Government answers
that national regulations are national governments' business, and that a law
addressing compensation for the victims of the Marcos regime's human rights
abuses is in preparation in the Philippine parliament.

23
According to Asia Week, 11 August 2000 and Manila Times, 02 August 2002.
24
See http://www.ejpd.admin.ch/ejpd/en/home/dokumentation/mi/2003/ref_2003-08-05.html or ICAR - Swiss Federal Office of
Justice, Press Release, 5 August 2003. Marcos case closed.14
PCGG Commissioner Vyva Aguirre says government is now "not waiting for anything
anymore", and Rod Domingo, lead lawyer for human rights victims, says release of
the Swiss funds "draws 9,539 victims of Marcos' martial rule nearer to their
compensation. Congress has yet to pass a valid and constitutional law which can
withstand legal scrutiny though".
September 2003 Ongoing fight over the Marcos millions is further complicated when district court of
Hawaii places global freeze order on the Marcos assets. The Philippine Government
appeals the freeze order to the Ninth Circuit in California. The appeal is dismissed
on 28 December 2004 - see below.
18 November 2003 Philippine Supreme Court upholds its July ruling and criticizes Hawaii court for
overstepping its jurisdiction.
2004
4 February 2004 Funds held in PNB escrow account are remitted to Philippine treasury by PCGG as a
result of the Philippine Supreme Court decision of 15 July 2003.
25
16 February 2004 West LB commenced interpleader proceedings in the Singapore High Court and was
granted interpleader relief on 24 March 2004. The Funds hidden by Marcos and for
which multiple ownership claims have been issued were ordered to be held in a
bank account in Singapore for the credit of the interpleader proceedings. All the
other banks had earlier released the full amounts held by them to PNB escrow
account in compliance with the Philippine Supreme Court decision of 15 July 2003,
affirmed by the full court on 18 November 2003 forfeiting the Swiss deposits in
favor of the Philippine Government.
30 June 2004 Macapagal-Arroyo re-elected to six-year term as president.
8 July 2004 Sandiganbayan issues warrant of arrest for Marcos crony Herminio Disini for
allegedly taking bribes for securing a government con in the 1970s to build the
long-mothballed Bataan nuclear power plant. Disini was indicted by state
prosecutors for allegedly using his influence to win the bid for the nuclear plant
project for two American companies, Burns and Roe and Westinghouse Electrical
Corp., in exchange for USD 18 million in bribes. Marcos allegedly also received
kickbacks. Disini's whereabouts are unknown, however.
15 July 2004 US district Judge Manual Real in Hawaii orders that USD 40 million held by finance
company Arelma Inc set up by Marcos be used to start paying victims of his regime
who were awarded damages in 1994. The Arelma Inc appeals the ruling.
The Philippine Government, though it "welcomes the spirit of the US court decision"
says that the Federal Court ruling handed down by a US district Judge Real cannot
be enforced on the Philippines as a sovereign state outside the jurisdiction of the
US court, and victims will be compensated under national laws of the Philippines. A
spokesperson adds that the government is "committed to the compensation of
human rights victims".
28 December 2004 The Ninth Circuit in California finds the Philippine Government to be a non-party to
a global freeze order placed on the Marcos assets by the district court of Hawaii.
The government lacks standing to challenge the order and the court dismisses the
appeal.

25
See Philippines asset recovery statement, Jordan 2006, supra note 7.15
2005
4 February 2005 The Philippine National Bank petition to US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for a writ
of mandamus to prevent the district court from pursuing contempt and discovery
proceedings against the bank because of the bank's transfer of funds to the
Republic of the Philippines pursuant to a judgment of the Philippine Supreme Court.
Ninth Circuit Court concludes that the district court's orders violated the act of state
doctrine, and it accordingly issues the writ.
11 February 2005 President Arroyo says spending of recovered Marcos wealth transferred to the
national treasury was legal. Law states that all alleged ill-gotten wealth recovered
from the Marcos family must first be earmarked for land reform. Bill pending to
amend law, to use some of the wealth to compensate Marcos human rights victims.
July 2005 Filipinos rate Marcos as best of country's last five presidents in a poll. Out-polls his
successor 'People's Power' leader Corazon Aquino.
2006
4 May 2006 Philippine Government said to be considering compromise with Imelda Marcos,
seeking an out-of-court settlement to end a global hunt and litigation over the
Marcos family's fortune. PCGG said "exploratory talks" with the Marcos lawyer
Robert Sison had been held and it had asked Sison to submit a list of assets held by
the Marcos family.
4 May 2006 US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the Republic of the Philippines is not an
indispensable party to an interpleader action in which victims of human rights
violations claimed compensation. The Court of Appeals previously held that the
Republic was a necessary party, but was protected by sovereign immunity. Thus, a
ruling that it was an indispensable party would have compelled dismissal of the suit.
Court now concludes that "equity and good conscience" can allow suit to continue.
Human rights abuse victims can thus recover about USD 35 million being held by
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith, Inc. in an account set up by a Marcos
corporation, Arelma, Inc. Senior Judge John T. Noonan Jr., writing for the court,
noted that the account is in the United States and cannot be finally disposed of
except by the judgment of a court in the US. The case is Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
Fenner and Smith, Inc. v. Arelma, Inc., 04-16401.
18 August 2006 Swiss Federal Supreme Court countermands freezing of accounts relating to Disini,
as the Philippines has not presented confiscation judgment.
26

29 December 2006 On 8 March 2006, the Philippine Government applies for and is granted leave to
join in the interpleader proceedings solely to assert state immunity to the Funds.
On 27 December 2006, the Singapore High Court dismisses an application filed by
the Philippine Government pursuant to the Singapore State Immunity Act to, inter
alia, stay the claims of all other claimants to the Funds which comprise of USD 23
million Marcos funds of money originally hidden by Marcos in a Swiss bank before
being transferred to Singapore. The Philippine Government appealed this decision
to the Singapore Court of Appeal and the appeal is pending. Swift says it is a
significant victory on the way to obtaining a final verdict for the entire USD 23
million of Marcos funds. Singapore is not a signatory to the UN Convention Against
Corruption.

26
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court judgments: 1A.335/2005, 23 March 2007, 1A.27/2006, 21 February 2007.16
2007
7 February 2007 Bicameral Committee of the Congress of the Philippines approves consolidated bill,
providing compensation to human rights victims under the Marcos regime. The
Senate thereafter approved the consolidated bill before it went into recess. The
bill has been certified as a priority bill by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and will
become law after the House formally approves it.
2007 The legacy of the Marcos dictatorship is an economy struggling to pay interest on
its foreign debt and a seriously compromised democracy, struggling to shake off
corruption.
The existence and whereabouts of the Marcos billions remains unconfirmed, despite
detailed international investigations.
Just over 17 years after the Marcoses' flight from the Philippines, a part (USD 658
million) of the alleged Marcos billions was returned to the government. More than
20 years after the end of the Marcos presidency, many of the assets believed stolen
from the Philippines by the Marcos family have still not been returned to the
government. The latter is again said to be open to an out-of-court settlement to
finally lay the Marcos era to rest.
Compiled from public articles and documents by the Basel Institute on Governance/International Centre for
Asset Recovery ICAR (Gyan Sharan Bitterli). Statements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Basel
Institute on Governance or ICAR. Comments from several participants at the May 15-16 Workshop at Asset
Recovery held in Basel, Switzerland, including from the Philippine Presidential Commission on Good
Government (PCGG) have been incorporated. This document is intended to be used for instructional purposes
and is not an exhaustive listing of all events in the Marcos proceedings. It remains work in progress and
amendments and comments are welcome and will be reviewed and inserted as appropriate.

Imelda Admits To Huge Marcos Fortune

2011-10-05T02:46:00.000-07:00

New Definition of Mining: "It’s All Mine!"

By Murray Horton

You’ve got to hand it to Imelda Marcos – she puts on a damned good show. Her hubris knows no bounds. Emboldened by her October 1998 acquittal on the graft charges that had kept a lengthy prison term hanging over her head since the early 90s (she never served a day behind bars), and by the 1998 election that brought a pro–Marcos President to power, in the person of Joseph Estrada, she has decided to go for broke. Specifically, to publicly admit to fabulous wealth, after years of denying it, and to flaunt it. The only small obstacle in her path, according to her, is that this treasure trove is not actually in her possession, but that of hitherto trusted accomplices, the infamous Marcos cronies. They’ve got it, but only for safekeeping, according to Imelda, and she’ll move Heaven and Earth to get it back.

In late 1998, Imelda contacted the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) and offered to tell all. Her choice of media outlet was interesting in itself – PDI was founded in the latter years of the Marcos martial law regime to oppose the dictatorship. However, no self respecting newspaper was going to pass up an exclusive of this magnitude. Imelda invited PDI reporters to her luxury homes and gave them free access to a mountain of documentation. In December 1998, the PDI started running what was scheduled to be a nine part series of articles by Christine Herrera, every one of them to be front page leads.

And what a story she had to tell. Part 1 had the eyecatching headline: "Imelda to file P500–B suit vs Marcos cronies; ‘We own practically everything’" (5/12/98). She wasn’t kidding: "We practically own everything in the Philippines, from electricity, telecommunications, airlines, banking, beer and tobacco, newspaper publishing, television stations, shipping, oil and mining, hotels and beach resorts, down to coconut milling, small farms, real estate and insurance". She claimed Marcos ownership of huge conglomerates such as the San Miguel Corporation, and vital pillars of infrastructure, such as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT). It is her contention that Ferdinand Marcos entrusted his holdings in all these blue chip companies (at least 150 of them) to his cronies, who proceeded to not return them, and to profit mightily from them. "They were paid well, supported and allowed to live the lives of the rich and famous and look what we’ve got? A betrayal. They were tapped by Ferdinand, supposedly to guard his interests in those companies. But look what happened, they wanted everything" (PDI, 9/12/98; "Imelda: We made Tan, Cojuangcos"; Part 5).

The 500 billion pesos (divide by 20 for $NZ or by 25 for $AUS) is described as a conservative estimate; Marcos lawyers say that it might go as high as a trillion pesos. If such a case or cases actually comes to pass, it will undeniably be the biggest litigation in Philippine history. The P500 billion is in addition to the P22 billion ($US580+million) of Marcos wealth found in Swiss banks, and being held in trust for human rights victims of the Marcos dictatorship. Interesting when you consider that the 1965–84 tax returns for Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos declared a total combined income of P6,756,301.

Imelda’s first target is PLDT, specifically to attempt to block the P30 billion deal passing control of the company to the Suharto–linked First Pacific Co. She contends that a 1967 deal establishes the Marcoses as the real owners of PLDT, not the leading crony family, the Cojuangcos. She is targeting the Philippines’ leading capitalists, such as billionaire Lucio Tan (Fortune Tobacco, Allied Banking, Asia Brewery, and Philippine Airlines. He is also a very close friend and ally of President Estrada). "That Lucio Tan, he’s nothing, just somebody who used to buy used bottles" (ibid). Her logic is impeccable – the Government, via the Presidential Commission for Good Government (PCGG) has tried since the mid 1980s to prove that these companies are Marcos owned and controlled. It has been stymied at every step by failure to prove ownership. So now Imelda openly admits ownership, and wants control back. But unlike the PCGG, she asserts that ownership came from legal, not illegal, Marcos wealth and that her motive for going public is to clear her late husband of the accusation of being a thief. Indeed, Imelda claims that Marcos used his vast fortune to personally finance the development of the Philippines – but presents zero evidence to support this incredible claim.

"We will take back everything that the trustees [cronies] held on behalf of Ferdinand Marcos, including those that they sold and surrendered to the Government… Whoever bought any of the Marcos companies or assets will have to face us in court" (PDI, 6/12/98; "Imelda vs cronies; ‘I’ve deeds of trust, stock certificates’"; Part 2). "Lucio Tan bought PAL using money from Fortune Tobacco and Allied Bank, both of which are majority owned by the Marcoses" (ibid).

One company she is determined to regain is Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), claiming that Marcos had bought it off the Lopez family in 1973 (the Aquino government returned it to the Lopezes). The Lopezes provided a chilling account of how the new rich Marcoses had supplanted the old rich. The family patriarch, Eugenio Lopez Sr., had indeed signed over Meralco in 1973 to the Marcoses. Why? Because, under the martial law dictatorship, Lopez’s son, Eugenio Jr. was being held by the military. The Marcoses offered to release him in exchange for control of the Lopez fortune – they then welshed on the deal and didn’t release the son (he escaped to the US, after five years behind bars). The "sale" price was bogus – the Marcoses paid no more than a P10,000 deposit. Their motive for this hostage taking and blackmail was not because they particularly coveted Meralco, but because they wanted to destroy the influence of the Lopezes who, via their paper, the Manila Chronicle, had attacked the graft and corruption of the Marcos regime.

In part 3 of the "Imelda vs cronies" series (PDI, 7/12/98; "Marcos targeted multinational firms") Imelda tried to portray Marcos as some sort of a patriotic capitalist, claiming that when he declared martial law in 1972 he knew that parity rights in major American transnational corporations would expire in 1974 (under the Laurel–Langley Treaty). That meant that the TNCs would have to surrender up to 60% of their holdings in Filipino companies, so here was a good chance to secure Filipino ownership [meaning by Marcos]. Having secured the companies, Marcos then assigned hand picked cronies to head them: "I won’t be president of any company because I’m already the president of the country" (ibid). Jose Yao Campos got 49 companies; Lucio Tan, Roberto Benedicto and Danding Cojuangco 12 each. These cronies each regularly paid Marcos hundreds of millions of pesos into his secret bank accounts, in return for privileges and concessions (Ferdinand used the name ‘William Saunders’ for his hidden accounts and assets; Imelda was ‘Jane Ryan’).

A Mountain Of Gold Or A Crock Of The Old Proverbial?

So where did this fabulous but allegedly legal Marcos wealth come from? That’s where the "Imelda vs cronies" series gets really interesting, not to mention entering the realm of fantasy. Part 4 (PDI, 8/12/98) had the astonishing headline: "‘Marcos had gold hoard of 4,000 tons’". According to Imelda, Marcos was the world’s shrewdest gold trader, accumulating his first 1,000 tons whilst a guerilla fighting the Japanese in WWII (the legendary Yamashita Treasure) and amassing 4,000 tons by the 1970s (as against the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ [BSP] mere 650 ton gold reserve). She reckons that he bought gold at $US 17 per ounce and sold it at $US 32. Things really took off in the 1970s, when the price of gold hit nearly $US 800 per ounce.

Not surprisingly, this claim met with derision, both in the Philippines and abroad. Experts pointed out that 4,000 tons represents South Africa’s gold output over ten years, and the Philippines’ in 100 years. Gabriel Singson, BSP governor, said: "We will just become the laughingstock of the world" (PDI, 10/12/98; "Gold experts aghast at Imelda claim"), when asked if the Government intended to try verifying Imelda’s claim. Even her own daughter found it all too much to take. Representative Imee Marcos said: "We love her dearly, but sometimes she goes wild and crazy and it’s very exciting to watch" (ibid). Public opinion on the whole business was most succinctly summed up by Rep. Joker Arroyo: "There is no more honor among thieves. They’re now all dirty, quarrelling thieves and I hope they kill themselves fighting over the loot" (PDI, 8/12/98; "Senate asked to probe impact of Imelda claims").

Christine Herrera’s nine part series in the PDI got no further than Part 5. After that, Imelda pleaded with the paper to stop publication, citing fears about the safety of her family. "My fax machine is throwing up death threats. We had to change the number. People are scared. It’s like Pinatubo. My children are getting death threats. Imee is crying. Irene is crying. Bongbong does not like what has been happening. They told me, ‘Mommy, we just want peace’" (PDI, 10/12/98; "Imelda fears for life, begs to stop series"). The Inquirer acceded to her request and prematurely ended the series. The story was gone, but very far from forgotten.

The cronies themselves (several of whom have already been given legal immunity by previous governments, because of cooperating in the hunt for Marcos assets) were definitely not going to roll over and play dead. "See you in court", was the Cojuangcos’ reply to Imelda’s plans to sue them over the sale of their PLDT stake.

The extraordinary revelations (backed by extensive documentation and universally deemed credible, except for Imelda’s golden fairytale about how Marcos got his fortune) focused attention right back onto the unedifying spectacle of cronyism, which is as prevalent under Estrada as it was under Marcos. Same cronies too, with Lucio Tan and Danding Cojuangco to the forefront.

The thousands of Marcos–era human rights victims who have successfully sued the Marcos estate in US courts also had a keen interest in Imelda’s admissions of a vast fortune. SELDA, the organisation of ex–detainees, called on the Estrada administration to conduct a thorough investigation of the Marcos family, covering all their crimes against the people. Marie Hilao Enriquez, secretary general, said: "Now that Imelda Marcos has revealed their not–so–hidden wealth, the Government has enough basis for an investigation covering not only the plunder which the Marcos family committed but also to include the murders, abductions, and torture they ordered.

"We should not let the opportunity pass, there is an element of truth to the delusion–filled statements of Imelda Marcos. In fact, when Imelda talks like a crazy woman, she is just being herself. And these are the rare moments when she tells the truth. We just have to sift through her statements and arrive at a goldmine, literally and figuratively. When the Hawaii Federal District Court ordered the Marcos family to indemnify the victims of human rights violations, Imelda claimed that she was poor. And now that she has an attack of her Imeldific disease, she claims that they own almost all strategic corporations in the Philippines. Everybody knows this but the Marcos family had denied it in the past. To start with, she can be investigated for illegal trading of gold. Second, they can be investigated on the source of the ill–gotten wealth thereby strengthening the graft charges against them. And equally if not more important, they should be held criminally liable for the murders, abductions, and torture that they ordered against the 10,000 victims of the Marcos fascist dictatorship" (press release, 9/12/98; "SELDA calls for thorough investigation of Marcos family"). Romeo Capulong, SELDA’s lawyer, said that those 10,000 victims will claim P150 billion of Imelda’s purported P500 billion fortune.

The Senate summonsed Imelda to appear before one of its committees. Her lawyers asked for her to be granted legal immunity. PDI was editorially outraged (12/12/98; "Pillage"): "Why on Earth should anyone give immunity to Imelda Marcos? …Lest we forget, the dictatorship was a conjugal one …Imelda was part of the terror, Imelda was part of the theft. You absolve Imelda of wrongdoing, which is what immunity means, and you might as well close the books on martial law and tell your kids it never happened…" She didn’t get immunity and had to appear before the Senate committee in December 1998, something which would have been unimaginable in her days of absolute power. She put on a typically bravura performance, invoking her right to remain silent more than 50 times. She also said that she had merely had a "conversation" with PDI’s Christine Herrera, not an interview for publication. Herrera herself appeared before the committee to set the record straight. After having been contacted by Imelda, the PDI’s editor–in–chief had personally led the paper’s entire business staff in scouring the Marcos records and documents that had voluntarily been made available to the paper.

In December 1998, the Supreme Court, headed by new Chief Justice, Hilario Davide, dealt the Marcoses a hefty blow by voiding the deal between the Marcoses and the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) to split the Marcos estate 75% (for the State) and 25% for the Marcoses. The Court went further and overturned a proposed 1993 deal which would have granted the Marcoses immunity from criminal and civil suits. The judgement said: "This effectively ensconced the Marcoses beyond the reach of the law and sets a dangerous precedent for public accountability. It is a virtual warrant for public officials to amass public funds illegally, since there is an open option to compromise their liability in exchange for only a portion of their ill–gotten wealth" (PDI, 10/12/98; "No compromise: High court zaps 75–25 Marcos deal").

However, Imelda is not too worried about a few legal setbacks. She feels that the tide is turning in her favour. As one of her lawyers said: "Why would we compromise with either the Government or the victims if we can get the entire assets and properties back through winning legal battles?" (New Zealand Herald, 18/1/99; "Estrada close to deal over Marcos billions"). Imelda is counting on her friend, President Estrada, to cancel out any minor inconveniences like adverse court decisions. Thirteen years of PCGG hunting for Marcos assets has only come up with peanuts – about $US2 million in stocks, real estate, cash in Swiss accounts and jewellery. Estrada is keen to do a deal, to get the Government’s hands on some of that fabulous booty, regardless of any Supreme Court decision.

jewel

MARCOS' MISSING MILLIONS

2011-10-04T23:57:00.000-07:00

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Marcos’ Missing Millions

This article was written by LUCY KOMISAR published in "in these times" Aug. 2002

Corporate corruption scandals roil the United States, dragging down with them the reputations of the major accounting firms that signed off on—or even designed—fraudulent financial practices. These global auditors were supposed to keep corporations honest. But a closer look at Switzerland, the birthplace of financial legerdemain, shows that accounting deceit is nothing new. Western financial managers cut their teeth designing systems for Third World dictators to loot their countries.

Perhaps the most notorious example is Ferdinand Marcos, who is suspected of stealing at least $10 billion from the Philippines before being overthrown in February 1986. The Philippine government has spent more than 15 years trying to track and recover the money, some of which was secreted away by Swiss bankers and stashed in offshore havens.

Now, a former attorney with accounting firm KPMG in Zurich has come forward claiming she has evidence that on March 23, 1986—just a day before a freeze would be placed on Marcos’ accounts—KPMG secretly transferred $400 million from Credit Suisse Zurich to a Liechtenstein trust on the ex-dictator’s behalf.

The attorney, Marie-Gabrielle Koller—named in this article for the first time—first testified about the events behind closed doors before a French parliamentary commission in May 2000. Its report referred to her only as “Madame Z.” Last year, the Quebec native sent her information to U.S. authorities, but elicited no interest from Washington. Now Koller, 46, has privately offered to provide evidence to the Philippine government in exchange for a cut of the amount recovered. With interest, the hidden $400 million would be worth twice as much today.

Koller didn’t join KPMG until 1996, when she was assigned to the Credit Suisse account—a decade after the Marcos government fell. She learned of the midnight Marcos money-laundering operation from a colleague that year, after a Zurich court ordered the transfer to the Philippines of another account—originally worth $356 million—frozen in Switzerland since 1986.

That money had been held on the basis of documents found in the Presidential Palace days after Marcos fled to Honolulu in February 1986. But there were no documents about the $400 million. Bank officials had been warned that the Swiss Banking Commission, bowing to international pressure, was about to freeze all suspected Marcos accounts.

So, in the dead of night on March 23, 1986, lawyers for KPMG (then known as Fides, a subsidiary of Credit Suisse) moved the $400 million in Marcos funds to a Liechtenstein trust, Limag Management und Verwaltungs AG—which dispersed the money via new secret “foundations” (in German, anstalts). Limag AG was headed by Peter Sprenger, also the director of Liechtenstein’s Credit Suisse Trust AG and parliamentary leader of the Vaterlandische (Fatherland) Union, one of Liechtenstein’s conservative main parties.

Europeans joke that Liechtenstein is where Swiss bankers go to hide their money. The tiny country, just 72 miles east of Zurich, is the place where the Swiss send their dirtiest customers. Liechtenstein has gotten rich by laundering the money of drug traffickers, Mafiosi, tax cheats and other criminals. A 1999 report from the German secret service described Liechtenstein as a criminal state in the middle of Europe. The German finance minister denounced the country as “a worm in the European fruit.”

Indeed, when clients wanted to transact “sensitive” business, KPMG referred them to associates in Liechtenstein—with the assurance of added secrecy and protection from foreign law enforcement inquiries. Koller says even Liechtenstein was initially “unhappy” with Marcos’ money being transferred there, but Limag resolved the problems by giving a well-paid board chairmanship to Prince Constantin, the elderly uncle of constitutional monarch Prince Hans-Adam II.

“The bank bought the Prince’s uncle,” Koller explained to the French parliamentary commission that was investigating money-laundering in Switzerland. “Everybody is bought in Liechtenstein.”

———————

In 1997, Koller was fired by the manager of KPMG Zurich (which had been made independent of Credit Suisse—at least officially—so that it could continue as its auditor under new accounting regulations). She was sacked after testifying against a Credit Suisse Trust AG client who was involved in a conspiracy to sell tainted blood forcibly taken from prisoners by the Stasi, the East German secret police.

In addition, Koller believes she was fired because Credit Suisse realized that she—like other KPMG and bank employees— knew what happened to the Marcos money. She told the French inquiry: “My superior told me … that I would never work again as a lawyer and that my career was finished in Switzerland and in Liechtenstein because I had spoken to the authorities. “

Last year Koller approached the Justice Department via Virginia lawyer David Smith, a former associate director of the Asset Forfeiture Office. There was no response from the Justice Department’s anti-money laundering division or from the FBI. Both offices declined to comment for this story.

So in February, Koller anonymously approached the Philippine government through her attorney, Ian M. Comisky of high-powered Philadelphia law firm Blank, Rome, Comisky & McCauley, which has close ties to the Bush administration.

In his letter, Comisky wrote, “KPMG-Fides and Limag AG employees made admissions regarding the transfer of the Marcos monies to Liechtenstein, and our client has contemporaneous memoranda prepared at the time of the admissions.”

The letter, obtained by In These Times, also notes that Credit Suisse financial statements did not reveal its relationship to Limag AG—though Credit Suisse Trust AG and Limag AG share an address in Vaduz, Liechtenstein’s capital.

In exchange for the documents, Comisky asked that his client receive $125,000 up front and then another $100,000 plus 2 percent of the amount recovered. Given Switzerland’s banking-secrecy laws, and KPMG’s past record, Koller is also asking that the Philippine government pay the costs of any litigation arising from her cooperation with it. And she wants a “compulsion order,” so that she will have a defense against Swiss and Liechtenstein banking secrecy laws that punish whistleblowers with fines or jail.

Comisky’s letter was first made public by Philippine Inquirer reporter Donna S. Cueto in May. But Cueto did not name Koller, whose name was never mentioned in the letter. Koller denied in an e-mail to In These Times that she was the secret witness. However, a staff member of the French National Assembly arranged a contact with an intermediary who named Koller as “Madame Z” (an identification also supported by several other sources). Comisky did not dispute that she was his client, but declined to discuss the case.

Peter Herzog of KPMG denies Koller’s claims, saying, “KPMG has never been involved in any action regarding the Marcos affairs.” Martin Somogyi, a spokesman for Credit Suisse, said in a written statement: “Credit Suisse cooperated fully and transparently with the Swiss authorities as regards this matter. In 1986, we supplied full details of the Marcos family accounts to the Swiss authorities, who then forwarded this information to the Philippine authorities. All of the Marcos family’s funds were frozen in 1986, and movements of funds prior to the freeze were also reversed and frozen. All of the blocked funds in Switzerland were transferred in 1997 to a blocked account in the Philippines.”

———————

But claims that more accounts exist come from an unusual source. In 1998, Marcos’ loquacious widow Imelda gave an interview to The Associated Press and AFP in which she declared that, “There is more Marcos wealth that this government is not yet aware of, but for the time being I can admit that there is only $800 million in various international banks.”

While the Philippine Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), has been struggling for years to track down the missing millions, in late June, Haydee Yorac, chairwoman of the PCGG, declined Koller’s proposition to pay her $225,000 plus 2 percent of the amount recovered. However, she indicated interest in talking with Koller and having her provide assistance, with reward based on the value of the help.

“The letter doesn’t really contain much by way of information,” explains Ruben Carranza, who’s in charge of litigation and research for the PCGG, adding that Comisky has not yet replied.

One might expect the Swiss government, now under increased pressure to combat its reputation as a protector of criminal money-laundering, to undertake a serious investigation. But Koller knows better. “In my experience the authorities have no interest in fighting any form of organized crime,” she told In These Times via e-mail. “Or at least that interest stops where competing financial interests begin.

MARCOS GOLD BULLIONS AND SECRET DEALS

2011-10-04T22:58:00.000-07:00

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The issue of Marcos' gold has hit the headlines since Atty. Robert Swift submitted during an LA Court hearing last 29 September 1997 documents on two incidents of Marcos gold transfers, their sale and subsequent deposit in other secret accounts reportedly done by Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. last June-July and June 1997 amounting to $466 million and $23 million, respectively.

Upon submission of documents and cross-examination of witnesses presented by human rights lawyer, Atty. Robert Swift, to the LA Court, Judge Manuel Real issued a preliminary injunction to prohibit the movement and transfer of reported Marcos gold, certificates and money in the banks cited in the documents.

The details regarding these transfers were reportedly contained in a letter by Reiner Jacobi on August 8, 1997 to President Ramos which the latter admitted having received and endorsed subsequently to the PCGC for action.

The secret transfer of Marcos gold was initiated by the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) as early as 1986.

The first Transfer: 1.1 million troy ounces of gold

1986: the first transfer involved 1.1 million troy ounces of gold (30+ tons) which were deposited in five separate banks.
1993: these were sold and the proceeds of this sale were deposited in the Swiss Bank Corporation (SUC).
In June-July 1997 the money was transferred from the SBC to the Bank Julius Baer (BJB) totaling $466 million.
The $466 million was deposited in a corporate account of the PNOC, allegedly by a certain Enrique (as verified by Robert Swift) Vasquez on 30 June.
On 10 July, the proceeds were transferred to another account, the Marcan Account, Inc. in the same bank (BJB). Among the directors of Marcan, Inc. were a Mr. Castro and a Mr. N. Vasquez, according to the Jacobi letter to the President.
On 16 July, PCGG Chair Gunigundo was said to have met Reiner Jacobi. It was discussed that alleged friends of President Ramos opened two accounts at a Swiss bank where at least $466 million of the laundered Marcos gold proceeds were also deposited (PDI 9 October 1997).
In the same meeting, Gunigundo seemed shocked over the fact that money was being laundered behind his back ("Oh my God, they have done a deal behind my back", he said). Jacobi claims he taped the conversation with Gunigundo (PDI 9 Oct. 1997).

The second transfer: two tons of gold

The second transaction involved two tons of gold worth $23 million which money was withdrawn from the Union Bank of Switzerland.
June 12, 1997: According to Jacobi, Rothschild and Sons based in Zurich bought one ton of the Marcos gold from UBS on this day. (PDI 10 Oct. 1997)
June 12, 1997: Acting on behalf of UBS, Citibank Zurich also sold a ton of gold to Sun Hung Kuf, a licensed gold dealer based in HK. (PDI 10 Oct 1997)
June 12-13, 1997: Proceeds from the sale of two tons of gold amounting to$23 million were deposited in the Standard Chattered Bank of HK, according to earlier reports.
Despite the letters sent to Mr. Ramos aBout the laundering, Jacobi and his associate, Dr. David Chaikin, who served as his lawyer, did not receive any response from Manila.
After waiting for a week and receiving information that the laundering still continued, Jacobi and Chaikin decided to terminate their work for the government in August of 1997.
Jacobi and Chaikin contacted human rights claimants' lead counsel Robert Swifr and made available to him documentary evidence on the movements of the Marcos gold.
On 5 September, 1997, the LA Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order on money transfers to the three banks involved: the UBS, the Bank Julius Baer and the Standard Chartered Bank of Hongkong. The TRO was to expire on 30 September.
29 September: A preliminary injunction was ordered by the LA Court on the two banks involved in the reported laundering, the Union Bank of Switzerlandand the Bank Julius Baer. Meanwhile, the Standard Chartered Bank of Hongkong agreed to extend the freeze order made earlier on 5 September by the LA Court to the period covered by the preliminary injunction.

Evidences Submitted to LA CourtAugust 18 Ritter Memo

August 18, 1997 Peter Ritter Memo. Dr. Peter Ritter was the administrator of the Sandy foundation which handles the Marcos gold accounts. The Memo was submitted by Atty. Bob Swift to the LA Court.
The Memo affirmed the laundering that was taking place and mentioned the presence of an account of the Philippine President in the Bank Julius Baer.
Prior to the September 29 Hearing, Bob Swift sent a copy of the August 18 Ritter Inter-Office Memo to the office of Gen. Almonte, requesting the latter to comment on the document before its presentation to the court.
The Philippine Government never responded to Swift's letter (it is standard operating procedure that government offices respond within a period of 16 days to official communications made to them). Instead, the government sent a copy of the Memo to its Philippine Ambassador in Berne who in turn, Magtanggol Gunigundo admitted in the Senate Hearings, gave this to the Swiss government who turned this over to the Swiss banks.
By the time the 29 September Hearing took place in LA, after Bob Swift presented as evidence the August 18 Ritter Inter-Office Memo, a September 24 Ritter Memo was produced by the Swiss banks disowning the August 18 Memo.

September 24 Ritter Retraction

Thus, the August 18 Ritter Memo was contested by the Swiss banks on the Sept. 29 hearing with a declaration allegedly from Ritter saying the Aug. 18 Memo was a forgery. (Signatures of Ritter in the August 18 Memo and Sept. 29 affidavit did not match).
February 6, 1974 Marcos Letter of Authority to Peter Ritter as Administrator of Sandy Foundation
On Feb. 6, 1974, Marcos appointed Ritter as administrator of Sandy Foundation (sometimes referred to as Anstalt). The agreement was executed in Lichtenstein, Switzerland by both Marcos and Ritter. Ritter's signature in the 1974 document bore the same slant (sloping to the right and a bit angular) as his signature in the August 18, 1997 Memo and a September 14 Memo. In both memos, the Sandy Foundation stationery was used, and the name underneath the signature was Dr. Peter Ritter-Jurus.

September 14, 1997 Ritter Memo

The making and signing of the Sept. 14 Memo was witnessed by Anthony Silano, a witness for the human rights victims who testified in an LA court on Sept. 29 that he had seen the Marcos gold bullion.
Ritter in this Memo said that since 1986 "there have been a number of sales of the precious metal, including the sale of two tons during 12-13 June 1997. As of 30 June 1997, the precious metal accounts totaled approximately 1,240 tons. This is separate from the substantial currency and securities accounts of Sandy Anstalt held at UBS, which is also beneficially owned by the Marcos family."

July/August Communications(Between Reiner Jacobi and CHR Magtanggol Gunigundo)

The July - August Wait

July 16, 1997. Meeting between Reiner Jacobi and Gunigundo in Manila. According to Jacobi, Gunigundo expressed shock that laundering of the Marcos money was going on in Bank Julius Baer among "friends" of President Ramos who opened two accounts where the $466 million was deposited. Gunigundo disclosed this laundering to Jacobi. "They have done a deal behind my back," Gunigundo allegedly told Jacobi re laundering.
According to Jacobi's August 8 letter to President Ramos, the money transfer was internal to the bank.
On June 30, the $466 million was deposited in an account under the name of the PNOC at the Bank Julius Baer. The PNOC account was controlled by a "Nazaro Vasquez", Ill said, according to his sources within the Swiss banking system. When checked out by Robert Swift, the name he found was Enrique Vasquez.

On July 10, 1997, the proceeds were transferred to an account in the name of a private company called Marcan, Inc. at the same bank (BJB). Among the directors of Marcan, Inc. were a Mr. Castro and a Mr. N. Vasquez, but the signatory to the account was a Mr. N. Vasquez.

Gunigundo told Jacobi that he would relay this information (the 2 new accounts in BJB) to President Ramos when they meet on July 21.

July 21 p.m. Gunigundo called up Jacobi at the EDSA Plaza Shangri-La Hotel. "Good news you'd be happy with the President's decision," MC told IM and the latter thought he would finally be paid as promised at the beginning of the Operation Domino.

Jacobi went back to Australia. He waited for one week, July 22 to 29. He called up Gunigundo on July 29. Gunigundo said that President Ramos asked for one more week. Said President Ramos told him this before he gave his State of the Nation Address before Congress on July 28 over lunch. Jacobi waited for another week.

August 5. Jacobi called Gunigundo up and latter answered: "Well, look, we need to verify this information." He asked for additional information and other documents and his voice sounded different.

Jacobi got mad and refused to give more documents. Jacobi consulted his lawyer, Dr. David Chaikin, a former high official of the Australian government and an expert in extradition and in international mutual assistance.

Chaikin advised Jacobi to write President Ramos that he would now have to proceed with the agenda he described earlier to President Ramos in his July 18 letter.

Jacobi's July 18, 1997 Letter to President Ramos

When David Castro (former PCGG Chair) abandoned Jacobi in HK, he knew he had to defend himself against trumped up charges by the Marcoses. He had various periods of incarceration in 3 different countries for crimes he did not commit. (He was acquitted in charges made against him in both the Australian and HK courts. He was accused of economic espionage by the Swiss government who wanted him extradited from Germany, but this did not push through.)
Suggested that the laundering activity of the Marcoses, which is a crime under U.S. law be exposed. A 10% reward is granted the individual who does the expose and this sum represents an amount only in excess of US $50 million.
If above is not acceptable, Jacobi requested President Ramos for his own action agenda which should, however, include payment either in whole or in part for Jacobi's work. President Ramos did not respond to Jacobi's July 18 letter Jacobi's August 8, 1997 Letter to President Ramos
Thinking that Gunigundo did not give the July 18 letter to President Ramos, Jacobi sent the August 8 letter directly to Malacanang. The following are part of the letter:

"The information that I have obtained has major national security implications. I am particularly concerned that the Chairman (Gunigundo) may not have given you the most sensitive information because of his strong belief that he must protect you at all costs. However, I firmly believe that you are entitled to receive this information as head of the Philippine Government."

Jacobi said he withheld any further documents to Gunigundo re the laundering activities to protect his sources and because of the continual watering down of his information by the Chairman. Jacobi gave President Ramos all the number here he could be reached. The President did not respond.

President Ramos' Response

After the laundering was exposed in a Los Angeles court and in the international media, President Ramos first move was to ask Congress to set the parameters for a compromise agreement with the Marcoses. Then, he tried to discredit Jacobi saying the latter had a string of criminal cases.
The cases referred to are connected with Jacobi's work with the Philippine Government in getting information on the Marcos gold deposits. Two courts, one in HK and one in Australia, cleared him up, particularly on the drug trafficking charge which was proven to be "wholly uncorroborated." Neither was he convicted of the economic espionage case filed in Switzerland (PIJI 9 Oct `97).

The December 28, 1993 CompromIse Agreement(Crosscurrents, Antonio T. Carpio, Manila Times, 10 October 1992)

The Compromise Agreement consists of a General Agreement and two Supplemental Agreements all signed by Gunigundo and the Marcoses. These agreements are part of the pleadings filed over a year ago by the Marcoses with the Sandiganbayan in support of their petition seeking court approval of the compromise.
The Supplemental Agreement dated July 1994 fixes a "starting" 25% share for the Marcoses. This 25% share "may be upwardly adjusted in favor of the Marcos family based on Their contribution to the joint recovery efforts.
Since there is no ceiling on this upward adjustment, the Marcoses can even claim a 90% share on the ground that without their disclosure and cooperation, there can be no recovery of... the assets.
The Compromise Agreement (CA) does not define clearly what constitutes the Marcos assets that will be shared between the Government and the Marcoses. The loose language used would allow the Marcoses to even demand
share of assets already turned over to the Government, like the assets surrendered by J.Y. Campos, Antonio Florendo, and Roberto Benedicto;

assets already subject of court cases, like the San- Miguel and the UCPB shares.
The CA does not provide for a minimum value of assets that the Marcoses must disclose before the compromise can take effect. The Marcoses can simply disclose what the PCGG already knows about the Marcos assets and claim full compliance with the disclosure requirement.
The CA does not provide a time frame for disclosure of assets. The Marcoses can indefinitely delay the disclosure while the Government is locked into the CA unable to prosecute the civil and criminal cases.
The CA commits the Government to drop all civil and criminal cases against the Marcoses. No time frame or condition precedent is stated before the Govt. is obliged to drop the cases. The Marcoses can demand immediate dismissal of the cases even before they make a frill disclosure of the assets.
The CIA states that the Marcos share "shall be net of, and exempt from, any form of taxes." This is patently illegal since neither The Executive nor the Judicial Departments can exempt ay one from taxes.
The CIA provides that "this Agreement settles all claims and counterclaims which the parties may have against one another, whether past, present, or future, matured or inchoate." This provision is void. The Civil Code provides that "any waiver of an action for future fraud is void." The Agreement seeks to grant the Marcoses immunity from any future fraud that they may commit against the Government.
As pointed out by Antonio T. Carpio, in recommending the rejection of the CIA, the "ill-conceived, poorly drafted, sloppily executed and grossly one-sided (in favor of the Marcoses) compromise agreements will make The Ramos Administration the laughing stock of the Philippine legal and judicial community."
In an earlier article written by Atty. Carpio in the same newspaper, he cited the fact that, aside from the objectionable compromise agreement, Chair Gunigundo was never given the authority by the president to negotiate with the Marcoses through an SPA (special power of attorney).
Given the onerous provisions of the GA and given the fact That this was undertaken wiThout Presidential authority, Mr. Gunigundo evidently negotiated in bad faith, misrepresenting the government and deceiving both the government and the people. That he was given an SPA several months later by Malacanang to continue negotiating with the Marcoses has even raised more questions and objections to his continued stay as PCGG Chair.

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Marcos chronology of Plunder

2010-08-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

APPENDIX 7

Marcos Chronology Report

Reproduced below is a copy of Charlie Avila's Marcos Chronology Report detailing the former President's involvement in WW11 plunder. The report is available for download at www.prsi.homepage.com

There are a number of interesting points mentioned in this document - not least of which are the Marcos laundering connection to the Sultanate of Sabah.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT: THE FACTS, THE BACKGROUND AND PROCESS OF THE GREATEST LOOT IN HISTORY

February 1942

Treasure talk in the Philippines dates back to World War II.

Most countries tried to hide their wealth when they realized that the enemy was about to attack. Spain shipped all of its gold reserves to Russia for safekeeping (guess who never saw their gold again?).

In the Philippines, while the Americans and Filipinos were holding off the Japanese at Bataan, President Quezon had twenty tons of the treasury's gold bullion and silver pesos loaded on the submarine USSTrout and taken to Australia. Another 350 tons of silver pesos, worth more than Php15 million (almost $8 million), was dumped in the waters off southern Corregidor in May 1942 and several million dollars in paper currency were burned after the serial numbers were noted and radioed to Washington.

August 1942

During the middle part of 1942, the tide of battle began to turn. Japan was losing. Any planned movement of treasure back to Japan had to change - if only as a temporary measure. When the Japanese Imperial Army rolled victorious through Asia, it systematically pillaged each country, shipping raw materials to Japan to further the war effort.

What is little known is that the Japanese did not stop with raw materials. The plunder of each country they occupied was absolute, total. All banks, treasuries, and other depositories of wealth were looted. Even the bodies of the enemy dead were violated. Gold teeth were ripped out, fingers with rings cut off, museums, temples, churches were not spared, along with the temples of vice - gambling, prostitution, smuggling, opium, money lending.

A group of Japanese officers, assisted by a special engineer brigade, began burying treasure. They took months of excavation to build elaborate tunnel systems and complexes large enough to hold trucks and sometimes deep enough to be below the water table.

The Japanese built the first underwater tunnel from Kyushu, furthest south of the four major islands, to Honshu, the largest island, in 1942. They had the technology - no doubt about it.

Marcos believed in the treasure. After he became president, a large number of military were assigned full time to treasure hunt under the secret leadership of his most trusted Fabian Ver.

Progress reports to Marcos about various treasure site excavations were found in the palace after the Edsa insurrection. Aside from Ver, the team included Col. Mario Lachica, Gen. Santiago Barangan, Gen. Onofre Ramos, Col. Florentino Villacrucis, Col. Porfirio Gemoto, Gen. Ramon Cannu, Gen. Tomas Dumpit, Col. Orlando Dulay, Maj. Patricio Dumlao, Johnny Wilson and Venancio Duque.

1949 - 1950

It can be said that Marcos came from a poor family and that he made his first million as a first-term congressman in 1949 and 1950 selling import licenses. He bought a Cadillac to celebrate his new status. Before then there was no outward indication of any wealth.

1954

When Marcos courted Imelda in 1954 the story goes that he brought her to a bank vault and showed her stacks of hundred-dollar bills but no gold bars. He didn't open his first bank account abroad until 1967. But in 1988 and thereafter the Marcoses decided to talk like it was settled doctrine that he had began accumulating gold toward the end of the war.

One day Marcos explained to Enrique Zobel de Ayala < http://www.nenepimentel.org/bluerib/zobel-depo.htm > that he reminted gold bars in Hong Kong in 1946 and accumulated more through various treasure hunts but kept everything secret because other countries might have legal claims until 1985 because of the statute of limitations.

Which makes the whole story tragicomic, if true, in that 1985 was the beginning of the end - going all the way to the Edsa people's urban insurrection of 1986.

1967

While Marcos was rather quick later in life to talk about his wealth as the result of treasure hunting, he was all the time loathe to talk about commissions and payoffs, confiscations and outright thievery. In the year 1967 Marcos received his first payoffs from the US government. After he committed troops to Vietnam, he began receiving quarterly checks of US$200,000.00 each, delivered by the US Embassy, as per a secret agreement "between officials of Department of State and President Marcos that the Philippine Government could conceal the receipt of these payments from the Philippine public in its national defense budget."

July 07, 1967

Papers found in Malacaٌang showed Marcos opened his first bank account abroad on this day when he deposited US$215,000.00 in Chase Manhattan Bank in New York.

Not yet accustomed to hiding money, he used his own name.

The following year, 1968, he opened his first Swiss account.

March 21, 1968

The Manila Times headline was "CAMP MASSACRES BARED", reporting the massacre of fourteen soldiers on Corregidor island, with another 40 missing, in a Marcos project code-named Jabida, whose aim was sabotage and insurgency in Sabah. The recruits were Filipino Muslims and the target was a Malaysian Muslim state. The recruits naturally rebelled and were therefore massacred. To Marcos, the natural resources of Sabah were the ultimate gold mine. He said as much so many times to mistress Dovie Beams. And he claimed to have the Special Power of Attorney on Sabah from the Sultanate of Jolo, traditional owners of what had now become a Malaysian state.

March 1968

Walter Fessler, an official of Credit Suisse Bank in Zurich, came to Manila. He was brought to Malacanang. Forms were filled out and signatures appended. On his signature verification form, Marcos wrote out "William Saunders (pseudonym)," an alias he had used in his WWII days, and underneath that name he wrote "Ferdinand Marcos (real name)." Imelda did the same, choosing Jane Ryan as her pseudonym. Four bank accounts were opened. Four checks, totalling US$950,000.00 were given for the deposit.

January 01, 1970

Today Marcos announced to the nation that he was giving up all his worldly wealth. He now admitted he was rich. This was amazing. He never admitted anything. But then came the blockbuster."You know how I made my pile? I discovered Yamashita's treasure."

The shabby excuse was universally judged exasperatingly unoriginal. But there it was. He said he was rich because of Yamashita's treasure and he was giving all that up for the Filipino nation in gratitude for their electing him to a second term - the only president ever to be reelected, he proclaimed.

February 13, 1970

Manila did not believe the Marcos Foundation announcement. The demonstrations got worse. Protests turned violent. While the battle raged, Marcos and Imelda issued handwritten instructions to Markus Geel on this day to establish another foundation - one to be kept secret from the Filipino people - the Xandy Foundation in Vaduz, the capital city of Liechtenstein. This tiny state between Austria and Switzerland was famous for offering a unique form of corporate structure - the anstalt - a single-shareholder company protected by the world's tightest corporate secrecy laws. The CIA and KGB hid their covert funds there. Even Swiss bankers who sometimes had the need to hide money used the anstalten.

The Saunders and Ryan accounts were closed and the money transferred to the Xandy Foundation account at Credit Suisse. This would be the first of many foundations set up in this manner with Swiss bankers and lawyers as directors to hide the identities of Marcos and Imelda.

August 26, 1970

The Trinidad Foundation was set up in Vaduz.

January 27, 1971

Roger Roxas < http://www.state.hi.us/jud/20606.htm > and his team of treasure hunters discovered a gold statuette of Buddha, almost three feet tall and too heavy to lift. On this day they borrowed a truck and brought the Buddha back to Roger's house at 47 Ledesma Street in Baguio. It was two in the morning.

When they finally got to weigh the statue they saw that it weighed 2,000 pounds.

A representative from the Treasure Hunters Association in Manila, Louie Mendoza, tested the Buddha and said it was 22-karat, about 92 percent pure gold. Another treasure hunter, First Lieutenant Ken Cheatham of the US Air Force at Clark, came with his friends to see the Buddha and took a lot of photos.

April 5, 1971

At two thirty in the morning of this day, Holy Monday, Marcos' uncle, Judge Pio Marcos, authorized the search of Roger Roxas' house because Roger had allegedly violated a Central Bank regulation. The search became messy and violent. At the end of the day, the Buddha was gone.

Roger was picked up, blindfolded and driven to a secret location outside Manila. He thought it was a military camp in Pampanga. They tortured him until he signed a confession stating Marcos was not involved in the theft of the Buddha.

June 21, 1971

The Azio Foundation was set up in Vaduz.

August 21, 1971

The bombing of opposition rally at Plaza Miranda: Roger Roxas was to be the main opposition exhibit in the anti-Marcos campaign to dramatize the gold-greed and tyrannical methods of the President. The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus followed a month later - one of the elements forming the yearlong prelude to martial law.

September 24, 1971

The Rosalys Foundation was set up in Vaduz.

October 1971

Rosalys Foundation opened a bank account # 51960 at Swiss Bank Corporation. From this day to June 30, 1980, Berlin and Company would transfer US$10.3 million into this account.

December 27, 1971

The Charis Foundation was set up in Vaduz.

September 17-21, 1972

The start of the U.S.-Marcos Martial Law Regime, following Philippine Supreme Court decisions against foreign (i.e. US) ownership of land and in the wake of certitude that Marcos would not be legally allowed to run for a third term, not even by the ongoing Constitutional Convention, which he had so polluted with bribes and illegal interventions.

The Philippine Communist Party and its so-called New People's Army were then a very small insignificant group.

The Muslim secessionist movement was quietly gaining ground.

The middle forces of Christian and Social Democrats were on the ascendancy in both organization and propaganda.

With US help, specifically Richard M. Nixon's, Marcos now mounted the only successful coup, so far, in Philippine history -the coup which political scientists referred to as the "auto-golpe" because it was a coup against himself.

The rest is history (of systematic plunder and systematic human rights violations).

1973

The Central Bank's gold reserves dropped to 1,057,000 ounces. Governor Licaros claimed that 800,000 ounces (about 22.7 tons) were sold to obtain much needed dollars - which would have brought in $28 million at the official price of $35 an ounce.

The Philippine Central Bank was a powerful entity in the Philippines. It was equivalent to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in the US plus most of the functions of the Federal Depositors Insurance Corporation and various state banking commissions. As governor, Licaros had complete discretion in the purchase and sale of gold; he answered to no one except to the President.

A confidential source said that the gold mentioned here was sold not at official but at market value which was at least double the official price.

Under the Marcos regime, a Mafia-like code of silence was strictly observed to hide illicit transactions involving people's money.

In the rare occasion when the public got to know some of the illegal dealings, no problem.the technocrats - men of integrity and brilliance -would employ a technique they had developed into a high art, namely, the technique of the cover-up. They would justify cover-up on the ground that transactions were "confidential". Graft and corruption operations are always confidential. Of course.

June 22, 1973

Rayby Foundation was established in Vaduz.

May 2, 1973

On this day Fabian Ver wrote Marcos regarding a group code-named Task Force Restoration that was set up to recover treasure at Fort Bonifacio and Fort Santiago.

September 1974

Olof Jonsson, noted psychic, and a friend, Cary Calloway, flew to Manila accompanied by Norman Kirst, who had just met Jonsson and offered to sponsor the trip. The trip was on Marcos' invitation with a view to treasure hunting. Later, Kirst called Bob Curtis in Reno, Nevada and invited him to be part of the group. Curtis supposedly possessed a new technology for extracting more gold per ton of material.

The idea of Marcos was to launder gold bars by melting them down and reprocessing them in order to eliminate identifying marks and to refine their purity.

The team included Villacrusis, Amelito Mutuc, Cesar Leyran, Ben Valmores and Pol Giga and Mario Lachica.

They called themselves the LEBER GROUP. Effective January 1, 1975, Americans could legally buy and possess gold. Goldmarkets all over the world were already buzzing with increased activity.

December 1974

Charis foundation was renamed Scolari. The purpose was not clear - perhaps to throw future investigators off their trail.

1974-1977

Through these three years gold reserves stayed at exactly the same figure of 1,056,000 ounces - which would seem to be a statistical impossibility. They had never stayed at the same level before, even for two years running.

January 17, 1975

A secret decree not made public until after the Edsa insurrection was signed by Marcos today stating that in the event he became incapacitated or died, power would be turned over to Imelda.

March 11, 1975

Marcos invited Jonsson, Kirst, and Curtis for an overnight cruise on the presidential yacht. They went to Corregidor afterwards. Marcos had an office below which was a room that Ver took them to - about thirty square feet of gold bars stacked from floor to ceiling. They noticed the bars had what appeared to be Chinese markings.

March 1975 - July 1976

Marcos' highway commissioner, Baltazar Aquino, went to Hong Kong at least ten times to collect "commissions" totaling $4,539,786.60 owed to Marcos by Japanese suppliers of the Philippine highways ministry.

June 7, 1975

In his own handwriting, Marcos amended the January 17th decree and clarified imelda's role as chairperson of committee with presidential powers.

July 2-3, 1975

Jack Anderson's Washington Post column mentioned that Marcos was looking for "buried World War II Japanese treasure in the Sierra Madre."Actually it was at a land site near Teresa, Rizal - at the foot of the Sierra Madre - that excavation began in mid-May of this year on orders of Fabian Ver following a map that showed a main tunnel about 300 yards long, fifty feet wide, and forty feet high with side tunnels at both ends of about 100 yards long - a site excavated for the Japanese by several hundred American, Australian and Filipino prisoners of war who were then killed and buried with the treasure.

September 22, 1976

On this day Marcos signed PD 1033, proposing 9 new amendments to the constitution, including the infamous Amendment 6 which would allow him to continue exercising his powers after martial law was lifted "whenever in my judgment…there exists a grave emergency or threat or imminence thereof.." - amendments which were all ratified the following month.

September 1976

This month the Marcoses bought their first property in the U.S. - a condo in the exclusive Olympic Towers on Fifth Avenue in New York. Five months later they would also buy the three adjoining apartments, paying a total of $4,000,000.00 for the four and using Antonio Floirendo's company, Theaventures Limited in Hong Kong, as front for these purchases.

January 01, 1977

On New Year's Eve, Licaros had a problem. Foreign creditors wanted enough international reserves to cover three or four months of import requirements but there was only enough to cover two months. Today, New Year's Day Licaros had a solution taken straight from the book, Alice in Wonderland. There would be a new definition for the term "international reserves."

The term originally meant "all gold, foreign exchange assets of the Central Bank, and net foreign exchange holdings of the commercial banks." The new definition excluded the net foreign exchange holdings of the commercial banks because it had become an increasingly larger negative figure. Why? Because they were borrowing more and more dollars. Plus the new definition now included the Central Bank's borrowing as part of its foreign exchange assets.

Thus, with the stroke of a pen, the value of the reserves almost doubled, from $844.7 million to $1.525 billion, which was about 4.7 months of import requirements.

August 1977

Marcos' friend Eulogio Balao was head of the Philippine Reparations Mission in Japan and collected the kickbacks there in yen, then used his diplomatic status to take the yen out of Japan, go to Hong Kong, and change it to US dollars at Berlin and Company, a foreign exchange dealer.

After Balao died in August 1977, Andres Genito, Jr., set up the Angenit Investment Corporation to receive the kickbacks and opened an account at Wing Lung Bank in Hong Kong. Berlin and Company transferred HK$44,030,378.00 from its account in Hang Lung Bank to Wing Lung Bank.

October 13, 1977

Today, after addressing the UN General Assembly, Imelda celebrated by going shopping and spending $384,000 including $50,000 for a platinum bracelet with rubies; $50,000 for a diamond bracelet; and $58,000 for a pin set with diamonds.

The day before, Vilma Bautista, one of her private secretaries, paid $18,500 for a gold pendant with diamonds and emeralds; $9,450 for a gold ring with diamonds and emeralds; and $4,800 for a gold and diamond necklace.

October 27, 1977

The Marcoses donated $1.5 million to Tufts University in Boston, endowing a professorial chair in East Asian and Pacific Studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. The students and professors discovered this and forced the school to reject the donation. To save face, the Marcoses were allowed to finance several seminars and lectures.

November 2, 1977

Still at her shopping spree, Imelda paid $450,000 for a gold necklace and bracelet with emeralds, rubies, and diamonds; $300,000 for a gold ring with emeralds and diamonds; and $300,000 for a gold pendant with diamonds, rubies, and thirty-nine emeralds.

April 06, 1978

Tonight at a predetermined time almost every street corner in Metro Manila overflowed with people beating on cans, pots and frying pans, shouting the name of Ninoy Aquino's party. "LABAN! LABAN! LABAN!" Massive popular protest was more than matched by massive voter fraud. Imelda won by a landslide. Ninoy who clearly topped the election did not make it in the counting - coming quite behind the least known of Imelda's party.

April 17, 1978

Today Marcos signed PD 602 ordering all gold producers to sell to the Central Bank. In September he inaugurated the new Central Bank Gold Refinery and Mint in Quezon City.

June 1978

Steve Psinakis conducts his own investigation into the Marcos treasure hunts. The results are printed in a twenty-four part series in the Philippine News beginning this month, June 1978.Photos and documents added to the articles' credibility.

The year before, on October 1977, Psinakis masterminded the dramatic escape of his brother-in-law Eugenio Lopez Jr. and Sergio Osmena III. They broke out of a prison in Manila and flew to Hong Kong on a private aircraft. From there they were flown to the U.S. and granted political asylum.

July 1978

After a trip to Russia, Imelda arrived in New York and immediately warmed up for a shopping spree. She started with paying $193,320 for antiques, including $12,000 for a Ming Period side table; $24,000 for a pair of Georgian mahogany Gainsborough armchairs; $6,240 for a Sheraton double-sided writing desk; $11,600 for a George II wood side table with marble top - all in the name of the Philippine consulate to dodge New York sales tax.

That was merely for starters.

A week later she spent $2,181,000.00 in one day! This included $1,150,000 for a platinum and emerald bracelet with diamonds from Bulgari; $330,000 for a necklace with a ruby, diamonds, and emeralds; $300,000 for a ring with heart-shaped emeralds; $78,000 for 18-carat gold ear clips with diamonds; $300,000 for a pendant with canary diamonds, rubies and emeralds on a gold chain.

After New York, she dropped by Hong Kong where a Cartier representative admitted it was this Filipina, Imelda, who had put together the world's largest collection of gems - in 1978.

August 1978

In Vaduz during this month the names kept changing. The Azio Foundation was renamed Verso, Scolari was renamed Valamo, and Xandy was renamed Wintrop.

November 11, 1978

Baltazar Aquino collected the kickbacks from public highways funds ranging from 10 to 15%. On this day, $407,322.07 was credited to his account by Berlin and Company.

February 1979

Imelda was named chairman of the cabinet committee, composed of all ministries, to launch the BLISS (Bagong Lipunan Sites and Services) program, an ambitious attempt to centralize control of all economic and social development. She assumed responsibility for the "11 needs of Man" codified in her ministry's mufti-year Human Settlements Plan, 1978-2000. By 1986, the number of Filipinos living below the poverty line doubled from 18 million in 1965 to 35 million. And the ecological balance of the country had degraded from 75 % to 27% forest cover remaining - with 39 million acres of forest falling victim to rampant logging. This was BLISS.

May 1979

The Marcos couple celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary in a party that cost $5,000,000.00 There was a silver carriage drawn by eight white horses.

November 21, 1979

Two representatives of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Trustee, Ltd. - P.A.L. Vine and Lai Wai Hung visited Malacanang palace. A trust agreement was drawn up. Vine returned to Manila on December 5, 1980, and met with Rolando Gapud, Marcos' chief financial advisor and Gapud's erstwhile boss, Jose Y. Campos, one of Marcos' close friends. Two trust accounts - a dollar account and a peso account - were opened at Security Bank and Trust Company (SBTC). Campos was signatory for Marcos. These two accounts were owned by the trust in Hong Kong, which was owned and controlled by Marcos and Imelda.

Afterward, ten other trust accounts were opened at SBTC 7700,7710,7720, etc. and a deed of trust was executed between Standard Chartered and Security Bank for each account.

For example, the deed of trust for account 7730 was between Beneficio Investment ,Inc., a Panamanian Corporation, and SBTC. That account owned Beneficio Investment, whose bearer shares were held by Standard Chartered for Marcos and Imelda.

Aside from the Hong Kong accounts, other accounts were opened in Switzerland: in Credit Suisse, Banque Paribas, Lombard Odier et Cie, Swiss Bank Corporation, Swiss Volksbank, Finanz AG, Trade Development Bank and Bank Hoffman.

Accounts were opened at Barclays in London.

Also at offshore banks in Cayman Islands and New Hebrides.

In the US they had eighty-three accounts in nine banks, including Lloyds Bank and California Overseas Bank in Los Angeles, Redwood Bank in San Francisco, and Irving Trust, Citibank, Chase Manhattan, Chemical Bank, and Manufacturers Hanover in New York.

The money just kept pouring in.

Lucio Tan paid Marcos Php100 million a year. According to Gapud, Tan "belongs to the group that could get presidential decrees and letters of instruction from Mr. Marcos for their joint benefit." Marcos demanded 60 percent of the shares of Lucio Tan's holding company, Shareholdings Inc. which owned Fortune Tobacco, Asia Brewery, Allied bank, and Foremost Farms.

What applied to Tan was also true of the other cronies like Silverio of Delta Motors. About Php 10,000,000 in cash were deposited weekly in the SBTC accounts and then wire transferred to accounts in Hong Kong and from there to Swiss bank accounts controlled by the foundations.

As chief financial advisor, Gapud acquired hundreds of millions of dollars of shares in a multitude of companies - shares endorsed in blank by the original owner making them bearer certificates and allowing Marcos to avoid direct involvement but assuring him secret controlling interest in almost every industry in the nation - banking, insurance, mining, shipping, oil, sugar, coconut, manufacturing, construction, etc.

November 23, 1978

A house was purchased at 4 Capshire Drive in Cherry Hill, New Jersey (actually near to Philadelphia where Bongbong was taking courses at that time) for use by servants and Bongbong's security detachment.

The Marcoses did not neglect their annual real estate purchase. During this year and next year, 1979, they purchased two properties - one at 3850 Princeton Pike, Princeton - a 13-acre estate for use by daughter Imee as she attended Princeton. The other was a house at 19 Pendleton Drive in Cherry Hill for use of Bongbong and under the name of Tristan Beplat, erstwhile head of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines.

April 1979

In two days in New York this month, Imelda spent $280,000 for a necklace wet with emeralds and diamonds; $18,500 for a yellow gold evening bag with one round cut diamond; $8,975.20 for 20-carat gold ear clips with twenty-four baguette diamonds; $8,438.10 for 18-carat gold ear clips with fifty-two tapered baguette diamonds; and $12,056.50 for 20 carat gold ear clips with diamonds.

January 1980

Gold reserves were on a steady annual rise from 1978 to date, gradually increasing to 1,900,000 ounces, or an average of 8 metric tons a year, which was about the equivalent of local production. The price of gold reached an all-time high of $875 an ounce this month.

Despite this, four chambers of commerce - the European, American, Japanese, and Australian - submitted a position paper under the guise of finding ways to attract new foreign investment. Red tape, corruption, and a flawed infrastructure were delicately criticized. The message: it had not been easy doing business in the Philippines.

This was decidedly a different tune from the one they sang to Marcos when the latter first abolished democracy in the land. Things looked rosy then but gradually the foreign business community realized even they were not playing on a level field.

April 1980

Marcos attended the American Newspaper Publishers Association (ANPA) convention. Manglapus' Movement for a Free Philippines (MFP) had a field day - exposing the true Philippine situation. Under such pressure, the White House deliberately snubbed Marcos.

June 1980

For $1,577,000.00 in New York Imelda buys Webster Hotel on West 45th Street. She rewards Gen. Romeo Gatan as a limited partner. Gatan arrested Ninoy at the beginning of Martial Law.

November 24, 1983

On this day a man named Jose Cruz-Cruzal was arrested when he arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport from Manila. They found a plastic bag he was about to conceal in the small of his back. It contained documents that stated that Marcos wanted to borrow billions of dollars from banks through an American, Frank B. Higdon, living in Virginia. The collateral was "floors of gold" stored underneath a bank in Manila.

June 27, 1984

After the international reserves scandal died down, Marcos issued PD 1937, eliminating the ten-year limit on the amortization of losses at the Central Bank. Before this decree, the CB had to write off one-tenth of its losses every year. Now they could be amortized "over a period at a rate which shall be based on the adequacy of the Central Bank's profits." In other words, forever.

When Marcos signed this decree, the CB losses were fast approaching Php 100 billion or more than four times the amount known to be missing from the international reserves. Now one-tenth of these losses would no longer have to be written off annually. Incredibly, they were listed as assets!!

Sec.43 (d) of this PD read: "The Monetary Board may, whenever it deems it advisable, exclude from the computation of the annual profits and losses of any given fiscal year all or part of the extraordinary expenses incurred during the year." Only the CB knew what it considered "extraordinary" and could be excluded from public view and scrutiny. Could these be the expenditures incurred by Marcos and Imelda for the May 14,1984 Batasan elections? Could these be the source funds for the hidden wealth stashed abroad?

Indeed, the question must be asked - what items of expenditures have been eliminated from the CB 1984 and 1985 profit and loss statements that utilized this particular seemingly innocuous section?

May 14, 1984

"Election" day: eleven people from Langoni, Negros Occidental were picked up hours after the voting, marched through the village with their hands bound, brought to PC HQ where, according to eyewitness, the were beaten and kicked and nine of them taken to a nearby field where they were all shot dead while the fate of the other two arrested is still unknown. The bodies of the dead still bore marks of torture.

The American Committee for Human Rights sent a mission to the Philippines. Their report noted: "It was the overall impression of the mission that one-third to one-half of all individuals arrested by the military are subject to torture, as defined by the United Nations Declaration on Torture."

The TFDP (Task Force Detainees of the Philippines) documented in detailed records 5,531 cases of torture, 2,537 cases of summary execution, 783 cases of disappearances, and 92,607 arrests under martial law.

Former US Ambassador Stephen Bosworth testified that in a conversation with Marcos, the latter said: "I'm aware there is torture and everything happens, but that is part of the interrogation process and these people are communists."

January 10, 1984

Jose "Jobo" Fernandez, head of Far East Bank, is summoned by Marcos to the palace and given Laya's old job - Governor of the Central Bank.

August 1984

The IMF said the Central Bank had overstated its reserves by $264 million in 1981, $823 million in 1982, and $1.2 billion in 1983. Gross reserves had fallen $1.4 billion between June and December 1983. This means the CB now had no usable reserves. It could no longer pay its foreign debt. Bobby Ongpin reported an estimated $2 billion had flown the country in 1984 and $1 billion the year before.

What was the role of the IMF resident representative who, since 1970, had been keeping regular office hours in the CB? The CB paid for the residential mansion of the IMF resident rep and furnished him with a car with uniformed driver. Was the IMF resident rep, who was regularly furnished papers and reports of personnel of departments and offices wittingly or unwittingly a party or accessory to the "falsification" of international reserves?

February 08, 1985

On this day, the Sandiganbayan sentenced two municipal treasury employees to prison terms of sixty-four and twenty-six years respectively for malversing a few hundred pesos.

According to income tax returns, the Marcoses had a net worth of US$7,000 when they became the First Couple in 1965. How many billion dollars were they worth when they had to flee abroad?

That is why the Guinness Book of Records named him the world's greatest thief based on what they could trace.

June 1985

World media, in particular San Jose Mercury News, Far Eastern Economic Review, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the Nation, aided no doubt by the opposition in exile intensified the expose of the "hidden billions" and the draining of the Philippines.

August 1985

While Marcos battled the hidden wealth scandal, a gold deal was being offered in Israel. Oliver North was trying to find ways to fund the Contras of Nicaragua. The Israelis had 40 metric tons of gold for sale for $465 million, with a possible 20 more tons if the first deal went through. The commission would net $5 million for the Contras. Fabian Ver knew the Israelis, had befriended them when they used him to sign fake end-user certificates for arms shipments destined for Iran. When the buyers found out the seller was Ver, they approached him directly to cut out the Israeli middlemen.

October 1985

An Interpol cable stated that three suspicious shipments - one of gold and two of silver -had been made by the Central Bank. Speculation was that the Marcos family was diverting the precious metals to Switzerland to put them in their personal accounts. A bill of lading from one shipment showed that 244 silver bars, weighing 8,202 kilograms, were received by First United Transport on October 11, 1985, and moved to the docks escorted by the Presidential Security Command (Ver).

November 01, 1985

Dr. Potenciano Baccay's body was found in the back of his own van with twenty stab wounds. His crime was to have revealed to the Pittsburgh Press the public state secret that Marcos had indeed had two kidney transplants. Two days after the murder Marcos was provoked to show how healthy he was by calling for a snap election to be held February 7, 1986 against Imelda's warning of the dangers of such a move: "You're not in the best of health…The people are angry…A campaign could turn treacherous."

December 1985

Illegal use of aid funds as being the norm and not the exception is exemplified by the following: the Central Bank wired the Federal Reserve Bank in New York to pay $15 million to First Chicago International, for account of Lombard, for redemption of US dollar Treasury Notes. The Fed wired back on December 20 that there was only $6 million in the account. Then $45 million earmarked for USAID projects in the Philippines was released by the US part of which was used to redeem the Notes.

1985

By year-end, Imelda's Metro Manila Commission had managed to accumulate debts of Php 1.99 billion (which included $100 million in foreign loans) in its ten years of existence. Imelda had accomplished nothing and left the people embittered and even more disillusioned.

The insurgents' ranks grew by twenty percent a year.

Meritorious officers in the armed forces experienced low moral due to Marcos' penchant for promoting friends over more deserving officers.

November 1985

Sen. Edward Kennedy, citing numerous reports of corruption at the highest levels of the Philippine government, asked the US General Accounting Office to investigate economic and military assistance programs to that country. Report? $92.5 million of non-project ESF aid could not be accounted for and the team could not state that $227 million in ESF funds were not misused. For instance, the National Electrification Administration padded a $1.45 million disaster relief fund for the rehabilitation of typhoon-wrecked power lines. They had submitted false vouchers amounting to $108,441.00.

December 03, 1985 - February 19, 1986

During this time, just before the Edsa uprising, there were twenty wire transfers totaling $94 million to three Swiss banks - Banque Hoffman, Societe de Banque Suisse, and Union de Banque Suisse; one Swiss company - Transammonia AG; five foreign banks in Zurich and Geneva; and the Commerzbank in Luxembourg.

Where did these monies come from? From the gold accounts abroad? The Central Bank has refused to answer this question. In fact all Central Bank bosses have attempted to bury the Central Bank losses along with the past by restructuring the old debt.

How much was actually stolen and written off under the Special Accounts? And how much gold, if any, did Marcos steal from the international reserves?

Is there any doubt that he looted the Central Bank? Well, then, where is the final tally of the loot?

When Jobo bills were issued they were meant to complement the operations of the Binondo Central Bank that had been organized by Marcos and Ongpin to secure dollars to shore up official reserves. Ongpin assured the big dollar traders that they would find attractive use for the Philippine pesos despite the deteriorating conditions of the country because the Jobo bills were simply too attractive, with incredibly high interest rates.

Absent money-laundering legislation it was not difficult for hot cash from all over to enter the Philippine financial system. Jobo's Far East Bank, Philamlife, and AIG meanwhile made a killing brokering the initial placement entry phases of these hot monies into the Philippine financial system.

The short-term nature of the Jobo bills made an ideal cover for the layering phase of the money laundering process. "Heavy soaping", i.e. maturation of bills, reinvestment, and transformation into other financial instruments like dollars TTs (services provided by Far East Bank) was gladly facilitated.

And all of this, naturally, was done at someone's expense - at the expense of Juan de la Cruz who must now bear on his shoulder the heavy cross or intertemporal burden of future taxes as the huge bankruptcy losses of the old CB is amortized into the economy flows.

February 16, 1986

In Fe's records of monies paid out during Marcos' last campaign, one unusually large item was authorized by "FL" (First Lady) and paid to Assemblyman Arturo Pacificador on this day. A few days later, two carloads of men drove into San Jose, the provincial capital of Antique. Evelio Javier, head of Aquino's campaign, was watching the votes being counted when the men opened fire and killed Evelio after he was still able to run through town but finally got cornered in a public toilet where he was gunned down in front of shocked townspeople. Pacificador was later convicted of the murder.

February 25, 1986

Marcos fled the Philippines leaving behind a foreign debt of $27 billion and a bureaucracy gone mad. "Cash advances" for the elections from the national treasury amounted to Php3.12 billion ($150 million). The Central Bank printed millions of peso bills, many with the same serial number. Sixty million pesos in newly printed bills were found in a vehicle owned by Imelda's brother Bejo in the Port Area of Manila, and another Php 100 million aboard the MV Legaspi also owned by Bejo Romualdez.

How massive and humungus a loot Marcos took can be deduced from the known losses he left behind.

The known losses he left at the Central Bank included $1.2 billion in missing reserves and $6 billion in the Special Accounts.

Imelda charged off most of her spending sprees to the PNB or Philippine National Bank which creatively wrote off her debts as "unresponded transfers".

Ver also used PNB funds to finance his "intelligence" operations.

The known losses at the PNB amounted to Php72.1 billion

At the DBP, the losses Marcos left behind totaled Php85 billion; at the Philguarantee, it was Php6.2 billion ; and at the NIDC or National Investment and Development Corporation (NDC) - the losses amounted to Php 2.8 billion.

These losses were primarily due to cronyism - giving loans to cronies that had little or no collateral, whose corporations were undercapitalized, whose loan proceeds were not used for the avowed purpose, and where the practice of corporate layering was common, i.e. using two or more companies with the same incorporators and officers, whereby one company which gives the loan owns the company which obtains the loan, or similar arrangements. The cronies enjoyed their closeness to Marcos. With him they formed a Grand Coalition. They participated in the exercise of dictatorship. But Marcos owned them. The wealth of the cronies belonged to him.

Because of the free rides taken by Imelda, Marcos and the cronies, the Philippine Airlines was in debt by $13.8 billion.

The conservative Grand Total for losses Marcos left behind (and therefore the kind of loot he grabbed and hid) amounted to $17.1 billion.

The Central Bank, the PNB, and other financial institutions badly need an audit. The special review (not regular audit because there seems not to have been any - there are no records anyway) did not uncover Imelda's spending - her name never appeared - and Ver's intelligence fund.

The review gave no hint of theft or missing money, only "downward adjustments" and "proposed adjustments" to "deficiencies" and "shortages of money".

February 26, 1986

A few hours after the Marcos party landed in Honolulu, their luggage arrived - 300 crates on board a C-141 cargo jet. It took twenty-five customs officers five hours to tag the bags and identify the contents. The process was videotaped because of all the money and jewelry found inside.

There were 278 crates of jewelry and art worth an estimated US$5 million. Twenty-two crates contained more than Php27.7 million in newly minted currency, mostly hundred-peso denominations worth approximately US$1,270,000.00 (It was illegal for anyone to depart the Philippines carrying more than Php500 in cash. )

There were other certificates of deposit from Philippine banks worth about US$1 million, five handguns, 154 videotapes, seventeen cassette tapes, and 2,068 pages of documents - all of which were impounded by Customs. The Marcos party was allowed to keep only US$300,000.00 in gold and $150,000.00 in bearer bonds that they brought in with their personal luggage because they declared them and broke no US customs laws.

There were 24 one-kilo gold bars fitted into a $17,000 hand-tooled Gucci briefcase with a solid gold buckle and a plaque on it that read, "To Ferdinand Marcos, from Imelda, on the Occasion of our 24th Wedding Anniversary."

February 1986

When Marcos departed the Philippines, the losses in the three Central Bank accounts surpassed Php 122 billion (more than $6 billion). The big bulk of losses was attributed to the RIR account mainly due to two items: forward cover and swap contracts. Forward cover referred to foreign exchange provided by the CB at a fixed exchange rate to importers of essential commodities. Swap contracts referred to CB's receiving foreign exchange from banks in exchange for pesos at the prevailing rate with a promise to deliver the foreign exchange back to them at an agreed future date.

There was no mention of losses due to CB transactions in gold or foreign exchange.

February 28, 1986

On this day, Jim Burke, security expert from the US Embassy, was tapping on the wooden paneling in Imelda's abandoned Malacanang bedroom when he heard a hollow sound. It was the walk-in vault. Inside were thirty-five suitcases secured with locks and tape. They contained a treasure trove of documents about Swiss bank accounts, New York real estate, foundations in Vaduz, and some notepaper on which Marcos had practiced his William Saunders signature. They also contained jewelry valued at some US$10.5 million.

March 16, 1986

Did Marcos steal any gold from the CB? The CB always refused to comment. Why?

Today the LA Times reported that 6.325 metric tons of gold was unaccounted for in the Central Bank. Between 1978, the year Marcos ordered all gold producers to sell only to the CB, and end 1984, the Bureau of Mines reported that 124,234 pounds of gold were refined.

But the CB reported receiving only 110,319 pounds during this same period. That left a difference of 13,915 pounds (6.325 metric tons).

March 1986

Jokingly referring to themselves as the Office of National Revenge, a vigilante team led by Charlie Avila and Linggoy Alcuaz received a tip in the morning that Marcos' daughter Imee had kept a private office in the suburb of Mandaluyong at 82 Edsa. They obtained a search warrant, then rushed to Camp Crame to pick up some soldiers. After devising a plan, they boarded four cars and drove to the premises, arriving around midnight. The soldiers scaled a fence and sealed off the area. Avila, Alcuaz, and their men moved in and found documents in cardboard boxes, desks, and filing cabinets. Gunfire could be heard outside but it didn't deter the search. The documents revealed the names of offshore companies and overseas investments of Marcos and his cronies - a late link in the paper trail that had been started abroad by the teams of Avila, Steve Psinakis, Sonny Alvarez, Raul Daza, Boni Gillego, and Raul Manglapus.

March 09, 1986

A Greek-American, Demetrios Roumeliotes, was stopped at the Manila International Airport before he could leave with eight large envelopes stuffed with jewelry that he admitted belonged to Imelda - valued at US$4.7 million.

March 15, 1986

Ernie Maceda, Minister of Natural Resources, revealed today that some 7 to 14 tons of Philippine gold are sold to the Binondo Central Bank annually and then smuggled to Sabah, Malaysia - this gold being part of some 20 tons produced by 200,000 panners all over the country. Maceda's query was whether part of the gold they produced was siphoned to the "invisible gold hoard of Ms. Imelda R. Marcos."

"We deliver to the Central Bank," the miners said. "If it happened (the siphoning), it happened in the Central Bank."

March 17, 1986

The Archdiocese of San Francisco in California announced that they had uncovered a gold deal involving 5,000 tons of gold bullion allegedly connected to the government of deposed president Marcos.

March 19, 1986

Michael de Guzman flew into Honolulu and talked to Irwin Ver who brought him to Marcos, Imelda and Bongbong. Calls were made to Zurich - to Ernst Scheller of Credit Suisse. Marcos prepared two letters of authority. Mike was their last hope to withdraw the moneys from the Swiss banks. Marcos had tried to on March 21 but was prevented because of the freeze order of the Swiss authorities. So on March 24th Mike de Guzman tried his luck. No luck. He tried it again May 7th. Still the banks refused because of the freeze order. Mike knew it was time to go back home - to the new Philippine government. He offered to help them get the Marcos deposits in return for a fee. Supporting Mike was Ibrahim Dagher, a Lebanese businessman. They had identified one account for $213 million and eleven foundations that held a total of $4.5 billion in deposits in nine different banks with an additional $3 billion in precious metals and securities on deposit - or a tentative total of $7.5 billion. Operation Big Bird had commenced with Mike de Guzman, Col. Joe Almonte and Charlie Avila operating.

In the end, however, Big Bird would not - could not - fly because the government had strong doubts about the integrity of de Guzman, understandably, despite the guarantees built in to the operation to prevent any treachery.

April 1986

Julie Amargo, having obtained a duplicate copy of the KLM cargo airway bill of 9 September 1983 asked the PCGG to investigate and pinpoint the persons behind the shipment.

In response the CB published, 2 months later, an article about "locations swaps" done to "beef up liquidity at a time when the CB was having difficulty meeting its foreign exchange payments."

The article was an exercise in obfuscation. It spoke of a total of 30 shipments for location swaps between 1981 December 21 and 1986 July 30 wherein a total of 6,081 bars were shipped out. Of course, the majority of the shipments, 27/30, occurred during the Marcos regime.

But the article was not clear on how much were the actual sales aside from the September 9, 1983 shipment. And the press, not the CB, reported the shipment.

To add to the confusion, the CB, when asked, admitted there were other gold shipments during the Marcos regime in addition to the location swaps but CB could not provide further information.

April 1986

An Australian broker in Sydney said that T.C.B. Andrew Tan had offered to sell 2,000 tons of gold just before Marcos' downfall. Tan had told the broker the gold was part of the spoils of war taken by the Japanese in WWII. The gold talks continued.

June 05, 1986

A U.S. judge ordered Customs to release Marcos' money, jewelry, and belongings. Then a timely government appeal prevented the implementation of the order. The Marcoses were being charged by the Attorney General in New York of violations of the RICO (Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations) statue. The Philippine government followed suit by filing several civil cases in the U.S. Subpoenas began to arrive. Ver decided to leave, flying out of the country on a fake passport. And quietly Marcos put out the word. Find another safe haven. He wasn't welcome anywhere unfortunately. There was nowhere to go. He became a target for con men who made a lot of promises and asked for a lot of money.

July 1986

Marcos admitted to lawyers that four Philippine government agencies - National Intelligence Security Authority (NISA), Intelligence Section of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) targeted oppositionists in exile and other anti-Marcos organizations for intelligence and counter-intelligence operations through military attaches in the Philippine embassy and their consulates.

Also, using the Freedom of Information Act, lawyers obtained 400 pages of documents from US intelligence agencies related to US-Philippine intelligence dealings. They showed the CIA, FBI, and US government officials had knowledge of Ver's intelligence activities in the US and extended him full cooperation.

August 12, 1986

The global freeze on the Marcos loot was not totally effective. P.A.L.Vine who managed Marcos' two trust accounts at Standard Chartered Hong Kong Trustee LTD. Received instructions from Marcos and remitted $708,000 to the law firm of Anderson, Hibey, Manheim and Blair, Marcos Attorneys' in Washington DC. How much more Marcos was able to move after the freeze may never be known.

August 28, 1986

An NBI informant posing as a buyer saw ninety 75-kilogram gold bars in an apartment building in Quezon City owned by Jonathan de la Cruz, an aide of Bongbong Marcos. That's about 6.76 metric tons or almost the same amount of gold missing and written of in the L.A. Times March 16th issue.

And here is a longer list of questions:

In 1973 reserves dropped from 1,857,000 ounces (52.75 metric tons) to 1,057,000 ounces. The CB claimed 800,000 ounces were sold. Assuming an annual production of 30 metric tons, what about the gold produced that year?

From 1974-1977, gold reserves stayed at exactly the same figure of 1,056,000 ounces. Again, what about the four years of production totaling approximately 120 metric tons?

Gold reserves began another steady annual rise in 1978. From then until 1980 they gradually increased to 1,900,000 ounces, or an average of about 8 metric tons a year. What about the other 22 metric tons annually totaling 66 tons?

In 1981, reserves took a dip, to 1,650,000 ounces, a drop of 7.1 metric tons, which was sold. But another 30 metric tons should have been produced.

Reserves rose by 6.1 metric tons in 1982, to 1,866,000 ounces. That left 23.9 metric tons unaccounted for.

In 1983 they dropped to 289,000 ounces, a decrease of 44.8 metric tons from the year before, which was sold. What about the 30 metric tons produced?

In 1984 they rose to 786,000 ounces, an increase of 14.1 metric tons. That left 15.9 metric tons unaccounted for.

In 1985 they rose to 1,478,000 ounces, an increase of 19.7 metric tons. That left 10,3 metric tons unaccounted for.

Marcos departed in February 1986.

Is it true that Marcos propagated the Yamashita myth to hide the fact that he looted the Central Bank, that its gold bars were melted down and recast in odd-size bars to make them look old (how does gold look old, anyway?).

Marcos claimed that he "received the surrender of Gen. Yamashita" after a battle with his guerrilla outfit. History has recorded that Yamashita surrendered to Lt. Co. Aubrey Smith Kenworthy and that there was no battle. Yamashita's peaceful surrender had been arranged at least two weeks before the event.

In one entry in Marcos' diary he noted, "I often wonder what I will be remembered for in history. Scholar? Military hero…?" In a supreme irony, he did achieve what he so vainly sought - lasting fame - but not in the way he envisioned:

The largest human rights case in history - 10,000 victims.

Guinness Book of Records - the world's greatest thief.

The largest monetary award in history - $22 billion.

September 30, 1986

Questioned by Philippine and US lawyers about his hidden wealth, Marcos took the Fifth Amendment 197 times. Imelda followed suit - 200 times.

July 09, 1987

Congressman Solarz exposes Marcos' many plans to organize a loyalist army and take Cory Aquino hostage and in any other way return to power. Marcos assured would-be financiers for his prospective adventures that he had $500 million in bank accounts in Switzerland and $14 billion in gold secretly buried in several different places in the Philippines which could be used as collateral. When asked about the gold, Marcos would always become vague.

At first he implied he got the gold from the Central Bank through collusion with a former governor now deceased. He said, " It is my money but it, I borrowed it from these people who were buy, who were buying the gold…"

November 1987

Sen. Nene Pimentel exposed the way the Central Bank "cooked the books". It used a double-entry accounting system, with the losses in the Special Accounts reflected as assets in the CB's monthly statement of its condition. He said this ran counter to accepted accounting principles.

Pimentel also wanted to know why Jobo allowed the overprinting of paper money, including the printing of peso bills with the same serial number, which led to massive overspending during the snap elections.

No one knew exactly how much had been printed. Nonetheless Jobo and the CB were not saying.

Under the CB Charter, as governor he was in charge of the gold. He could sell it at any price, at any time, to any buyer, and no one could question him, not even members of Congress.

Fernandez was also criticized for not divesting himself of his shares in the Far East Bank which he was required to do by law. It was no secret that since he became governor the overall position of Far East Bank had risen dramatically.

March 1988

In meetings with presidential uncle Komong Sumulong and presidential cousin Ding Tanjuatco, Marcos presented a proposal. If he and his family were allowed to go home, he would give $15 billion to the Philippine government: five billion for infrastructure, another five to reduce the country's foreign debt and $5 billion to Aquino's family for the suffering they endured. Tanjuatco was amused no end at Marcos' studied ability to talk to him like he was an old acquaintance - which he certainly was not.

July 11, 1988

Marcos confided to Allen Weinstein of the Center for Democracy that he would prove his sincerity by immediately transferring the Swiss bank accounts under dispute to the Philippine government. When this became public Marcos denied he ever made the offer.

December 08, 1988

Marcos was asking Enzo (Zobel) for a loan of $250-million. Enzo said he didn't have that kind of money but asked how the loan would be repaid if he could arrange it. Marcos asked his nurse, Teresita Gallego, to fetch a folder - an inch and a half thick and full of deposit certificates for gold stored in various banks all over the world - Switzerland, Monaco, the Vatican, the Bahamas, and other places. Zobel knew Marcos had been flying gold out of the country since martial law began and there were no more checks on any of his actions. As a pilot in the air force reserve, Enzo had a lot of friends that flew and talked about flying C-130 aircraft loaded with gold to Zurich.

1988

Nandeng Pedrosa, son of the former finance secretary, was in Taipei as a consultant when he met Robert Kerkez who was trying to negotiate a deal involving a gold certificate for 50 metric tons of gold. In Manila, the PCGG invited a retired colonel and two foreigners for questioning. They were allegedly engaged in trading huge volumes of gold bars believed to be part of Marcos' gold hoard. Kerkez was one of the foreigners. The other was Ibrahim Dagher.

1989

Sen. Maceda asked the senate to conduct an inquiry to determine how much gold was bought and produced by the CB in the last ten years, how much gold was sold, at what price, and what persons were involved in the transactions.

December 1989

An American jury found the Marcos estate liable for $15 million in the killing of anti-Marcos activists Gene Viernes and Silme Domingo. Manglapus, Psinakis, Gillego and other erstwhile exile oppositionists testified at the trial.

1990

Joey Cuisia took over from Jobo as CB governor, on Jobo Fernandez' recommendation (affinity group of Far East Bank, AIG, Philamlife etc.). During hearings conducted by the Senate Committee on Banks he refused to answer Senators Romulo and Saguisag how much the country owed its top thirty lenders. On further questioning, he admitted that not even the president (Cory), much less the cabinet, was informed about certain details of the foreign debt. The finding by a government-commissioned UN study that the Central Bank was bankrupt had been kept from the president by NEDA and the Dept. of Finance. It was disgruntled employees at NEDA that leaked the information to the press.

March 27, 1990

Another gold deal surfaced. Threatened with a hold order form the PCGG that would not allow him to leave the country, British national Geoffrey Greenlees admitted he was arranging a purchase of gold and produced a tree-page Memorandum which called for Preliminary purchase Agreement involving not 2,000 metric tons but "1000 m/t rolling over up to 190000 M/T (AU). He said the deal was initiated in Manila when a lady, Margaret Tucker, introduced him to a Filipino attorney, Victor Santos, who represented the sellers. The name Margaret Tucker grabbed the government's full attention. That was the alias used in Europe by Edna Camcam, girlfriend of Fabian Ver.

December 21, 1990

The Swiss Federal Tribunal (i.e. Supreme Court) affirmed the sequestration request of 7. All bank accounts identified as belonging to Marcos or Imelda remained frozen. With accumulated interest, the account originally identified by Operation Big Bird now amounted to a total of $356 million.

May 1991

PCGG's David Castro announced that 325 metric tons of gold valued at $3.5 billion, which had been smuggled out of the Philippines by Marcos, had been found in Switzerland. The bars bore the Central Bank of the Philippines hallmark and were kept in the storage vault of a bonded warehouse managed by Union Bank at the J.M.Kloten airport near Zurich.

The gold was in vault number 88-RW-RP and the account number was G-72570367-d-UBS.

Later Castro produced documents showing the serial numbers of gold bars which were released by the Central Bank's minting plant for shipment in 1983 and 1984. These bars were not part of the Central Bank's official inventory. He showed a copy of the receipt for the bars signed by Tomas Rodriguez, operations manager of Tamaraw Security Agency. Tamaraw was owned by Ver. Castro also said he had interviewed one of the pilots who flew the bars to Switzerland after Ninoy was murdered in 1983.

November 04, 1991

Today, a Sunday, the circus came to town. The Swiss Federal Tribunal had ruled the year before that the Philippine government must comply with the European Convention o Human Rights, especially due process. There had to be a lawsuit filed within one year. Thus, the solicitor general's office filed all sorts of cases against Imelda and the government had to allow her to return to answer the charges.

"I come home penniless," she tearfully said on arrival. She then repaired to her suite at the Philippine Plaza Hotel which cost $2,000 a day and rented sixty rooms for her entourage - American lawyers, American security guards and American PR firms.

December 1991

The Central Bank had accumulated losses of Php324 billion in the Special Accounts.

June 26, 1992

Imelda and Bongbong on the one hand and PCGG's Castro on the other hand, after a 12-hour marathon session, signed a main agreement and two sub-agreements on the Marcos wealth and the government's prosecution of the Marcos estate - agreements that were rejected by Gunigundo a few days later after the latter took over the PCGG from Castro.

September 1992

Marcos was found guilty of violating the human rights of 10,000 victims. The ruling occurred just after a judge found Imee Marcos-Manotoc guilty of the torture and murder of Archimedes Trajano, a 21 year old engineering student at Mapua who had the temerity to ask Imee after a speech she gave whether the Kabataang Barangay (a national youth group) "must be headed by the president's daughter?"

November 30, 1992

The Central Bank < http://prsi.homepage.com/cb.html > losses were Php561 billion and climbing. Cuisia asked that the CB be restructured. Sen. Romulo asked to see the 1983 audit of the international reserves. He couldn't get a copy. It was "restricted".

January 05, 1993

Imelda didn't show up for the scheduled signing of a new PCGG agreement. She kept vacillating on the terms and conditions - demanding she be allowed to travel abroad for thirty-three days to confer with bank officials in Switzerland, Austria, Hong Kong and Morocco to work out the transfer of the frozen funds.

Actually she was hoping a guy she had authorized, J.T.Calderon, would be able to move the funds just as the order was lifted, before the government had a chance to transfer them to Manila.

When the government discovered the authority, all negotiations with Imelda were halted and her requests for travel suspended.

June 14, 1993

R.A.7653 created the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The old CB became the CB-Board of Liquidators in order to wind up its affairs. The new BSP assumed only Php280.8 billion of the old CB's total liabilities of Php612 billion.
As part of its "cleansing the books", BSP wrote off its recorded investment of $7.0 million in Triad Asia Limited. This was placed as time deposit in 1985, was allegedly transferred to National Commercial Bank of Jeddah but remained unconfirmed by the latter since 1986. The BSP's loss in International Reserves in this investment was $8,640,243.69.

August 10, 1993

Georges Philippe, a Swiss lawyer of Imelda, wrote today a confidential letter to the Marcoses' old Swiss lawyer, Bruno de Preux, who handled almost all of the Marcos family's hidden accounts in Switzerland. Philippe requested de Preux for the status of:

A $750 million account with United Mizrahi Bank in Zurich;

Various currency and gold deposits at the Union Bank of Switzerland, at Kloten airport and at Credit Suisse;

A $356 million account (now in escrow and worth almost $600 million) which was being claimed by the PCGG.

January 05, 1993

Imelda didn't show up for the scheduled signing of a new PCGG agreement. She kept vacillating on the terms and conditions - demanding she be allowed to travel abroad for thirty-three days to confer with bank officials in Switzerland, Austria, Hong Kong and Morocco to work out the transfer of the frozen funds.

Actually she was hoping a guy she had authorized, J.T.Calderon, would be able to move the funds just as the order was lifted, before the government had a chance to transfer them to Manila.

When the government discovered the authority, all negotiations with Imelda were halted and her requests for travel suspended.

June 14, 1993

R.A.7653 created the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The old CB became the CB-Board of Liquidators in order to wind up its affairs. The new BSP assumed only Php280.8 billion of the old CB's total liabilities of Php612 billion.
As part of its "cleansing the books", BSP wrote off its recorded investment of $7.0 million in Triad Asia Limited. This was placed as time deposit in 1985, was allegedly transferred to National Commercial Bank of Jeddah but remained unconfirmed by the latter since 1986. The BSP's loss in International Reserves in this investment was $8,640,243.69.

August 10, 1993

Georges Philippe, a Swiss lawyer of Imelda, wrote today a confidential letter to the Marcoses' old Swiss lawyer, Bruno de Preux, who handled almost all of the Marcos family's hidden accounts in Switzerland. Philippe requested de Preux for the status of:

A $750 million account with United Mizrahi Bank in Zurich;

Various currency and gold deposits at the Union Bank of Switzerland, at Kloten airport and at Credit Suisse;

A $356 million account (now in escrow and worth almost $600 million) which was being claimed by the PCGG.

1994

The human rights jury awarded the victims $1.2 billion in exemplary damages, then $766.4 million in compensatory damages a year after that, for a total of $1.964 billion. Two days after, another $7.3 million was awarded to twenty-one Filipinos in a separate lawsuit.

1995

The US Supreme Court upheld the $1.2 billion judgment.

March 29, 1995

The Swiss Parliament passed a law (an amendment to a previous act) that removed the need for a final judgment of criminal conviction of the accused (such as the Marcoses ) in the case of criminally acquired assets which could now therefore be returned to claimants (such as the Philippine government) by Swiss court order.

August 14, 1995

The PCGG, through Chair Magtanggol Gunigundo, and the PNB, through trust officer Jose V. Ferro, entered into a so-called 'escrow agreement' in anticipation of a possible order by Zurich District Attorney Peter Cosandey to transfer the Marcos Swiss deposits to be held in escrow in the Philippines. This transfer was now deemed possible on account of the March 29, 1995 Swiss Parliament act.

The escrow agreement, however, appeared irregular in the view of former PCGG Chair Jovito R. Salonga in that there was no actual deposit of funds, stock or personal property. Without an escrow deposit in an escrow account to be held by the depositor in the PNB, there can be no escrow agreement to talk about, Salonga opined. In fact, the so-called escrow agreement stated in Section 1: "Certain funds (the Escrow Funds) will be delivered and deposited in accordance with an order by Examining Magistrate Peter Cosandey...into an account of the Escrow Agent." This made the agreement, at best, a pre-escrow agreement similar to a pre-incorporation agreement entered into in anticipation of a future delivery and deposit of escrow funds which did not exist in August 1995.

Salonga emphasized that the escrow was irregular because, supposedly made by the PCGG, the latter was not in control or possession of the Marcos Swiss deposits at the time of the Agreement as it still is not in control or possession of the said funds up to today. This is legally absurd, Salonga said: to make a claimant, not in control of the funds, the source of the escrow deposit.

July 1996

In part because of the torture of Roger Roxas, $22 billion was awarded to his Golden Budha Corporation.

December 10, 1997

The Swiss Supreme Court promulgated a landmark decision that took into account the March 1995 Swiss Parliament act and the fact that new criminal cases had been filed against Imelda Marcos. The court held that there was no need for any criminal proceeding; that a civil or administrative proceeding would suffice, and the Marcos Swiss deposits which had been "criminally acquired" can be returned to the Philippines in deference to the final judgment of the Philippine court as to the ownership of these deposits.

The Swiss court also announced that the interest and reputation of Switzerland was at stake if it would become a haven for money launderers laundering money obtained by crime. Therefore, in the case of the Marcos deposits, because "the illegal source of the assets in this case cannot be doubted" the Swiss court ordered that the money be returned to the Philippines to be held in escrow account in the PNB to await the judgment of the Sandiganbayan in the forfeiture case.

As columnist Neal H Cruz accurately put it: "What the PCGG and the PNB should have done, after the receipt of the [Swiss court] landmark decision, was to make sure that: (1) there was a genuine escrow agreement with the funds which the Swiss Supreme Court made available to the Philippines on December 10, 1997; (2) between the Swiss government or its duly authorized representative, on the one hand, (not the PCGG) and the PNB, on the other, inasmuch as the PCGG, a claimant, could not possibly qualify as a depositor of the escrow funds it did not possess, much less control."

Why did this not happen? The reason, according to Salonga,was that the parties to the irregular escrow agreement were hoping that a previous (December 1993) compromise deal between them and the Marcoses - hatched in secrecy and born of false hopes - would be considered valid.

December 09, 1998

The Philippine Supreme Court held that the "compromise settlement" between the PCGG and the Marcoses was illegal and void. The court held that the stipulation to drop the pending criminal cases against the Marcoses was an encroachment on judicial power; that the PCGG had no authority to compromise with the Marcoses, the principals in the ill-gotten wealth cases; and that the PCGG had no competence under the Constitution to grant tax exemption to the Marcos family.

The Marcoses filed a motion for reconsideration with the Supreme Court.

May 20, 1999

The Philippine Supreme Court denied with finality the Marcoses' motion for reconsideration of the December 9, 1998 ruling against the PCGG compromise agreement.

Meanwhile, the new Estrada administration tried to forge a compromise settlement with the Marcoses on the Marcos Swiss deposits supposedly held in escrow in the PNB as the target. All sorts of excuses were invented but to no avail because of the Supreme Court's final decision.

July 16, 1999

In a seven-page pre-trial brief, the PCGG at long last asked the Sandiganbayan to confiscate the ill-gotten wealth of Bobby Ongpin, the estates of Marcos and Ver, and that of the operators of the Binondo Central Bank who "engaged in the buying of millions of US dollars and bringing the same out of the country for deposit in foreign banks, thereby obtaining millions of dollars for themselves and for Marcos to the grave damage and prejudice of the Filipino people." The PCGG asked the court to let the BCB operators pay Php51 billion in moral damages for defrauding the Filipino people.

Other defendants include Edna Camcam, Ver's mistress, and Vinnie James Yu of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. (Pasar) which entered into a joint venture with the HK-based Triad Asia Ltd where millions of dollars were remitted to the damage and prejudice of the government and the Filipino people.

Some $5 to $8 million exchanged hands daily at the BCB, with some $5 million salted away in private jets or regular commercial flights with military escorts, and where, on many occasions, gold bullion was part of the precious cargo.

In an earlier confession, Bobby Ongpin said that dollars unsold by the Binondo Central Bank were sold to PASAR which in turn sold the excess dollars to the Central Bank. He did not explain why the dollars took the roundabout route that presumably gave PASAR huge profits. Or was this in exchange for the acquisition (by whom?) of the gold and silver side-produced by the PASAR copper smelting plants?

In any case the Chinese Central Bankers were allowed a spread or profit of 20 centavos per dollar traded and Ongpin said that before BCB's cessation, the participants earned hundreds of millions of pesos in profits. However, he emphasized, he committed no illegal acts. He swears that his scheme added $400 million to the CB foreign exchange reserves and the Filipino people should all be grateful to him for it. For now, anyway, the PCGG does not think so.

Bobby Ongpin, as former minister of Trade and Industry and Chairman of the Board of Directors of National Development Company (NDC) and Vinnie James Yu, as former Assistant General Manager of NDC and Treasurer of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corporation (PASAR), taking advantage of their positions and in unlawful collaboration with Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, entered into a joint venture known as Triad Asia Limited with Triad Holding Corporation, to which the government was obligated to contribute US$500,000 as equity, but Ongpin and Yu actually remitted to Triad Asia Limited, using NDC and PASAR resources, an aggregate of US$10,640,000.

Is Triad Asia Limited in anyway connected with the notorious Triads of Hong Kong?

Triads were originally created as secret societies and brotherhoods. The purpose of these societies was to overthrow the unpopular ruler. During the 18th and 19th centuries, there were many new secret Chinese societies founded, but they were not concerned as much in overthrowing the ruler as in terrorizing and robbing the citizens. During the first half of the 20th century, the Triads took root in Hong Kong. These were plain criminal organizations and after the political crackdown in 1956 the Triads became much less structured. The triads spread quickly throughout the Chinese community in Hong Kong. They soon controlled the streets by prostitution, gambling, etc. as they gained more power and made more connections, the Hong Kong Triads grew very strong and could now start with such things as extortion. A lot of people in the police force were also bribed; Chinese as well as English. As time went by new ways of making money appeared, mainly drug trafficking, selling copies of luxury goods and selling private software. The modern Hong Kong Triads just want to make money out of their criminal activities.

Today (as before), the main criminal activities are extortion, drug-handling, loan-sharking credit and card-fraud and video piracy.

And for now, in fact, activist investigators started looking at the origins and nature of Belle Resources Corporation which had been awarded the right to conduct electronic gambling (Bingo!) nationwide and the allegation that this was all BCB money returning home to grow.

July 17, 1999

Following the Supreme Court doctrine, the Sandiganbayan now also denied a motion for the government to enter into a partial compromise settlement of $150 million with human rights victims which, it was hoped by the Estrada administration, would pave the way for the bigger compromise settlement on the balance of the Marcos deposits. As expected, a motion for reconsideration was filed by the parties involved.

August 10, 1999

Senator Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel, Chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, opened the probe today into the $13.2 billion "I. Arenetta" account and the Marcos gold hoard even as in faraway Switzerland another investigation was about to start - concerning the alleged conspiracy and money laundering activities of Swiss officials in connection with the secret Marcos cash and gold accounts.

October 1999

The Sandiganbayan threw out with finality the motion for reconsideration on a proposed partial compromise settlement of Marcos moneys in favor of human rights victims.

At the same time, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee discovered that what had been assumed to be true and indisputable, viz. the $590 million (now $602 million) held in escrow in the PNB - is false. The simple truth pointed out by Salonga now became clear: the PCGG, a claimant without any escrow deposit, could not and cannot legally enter into an escrow agreement with the PNB.

Realizing there was no way out, President Estrada also declared with alleged finality that "there is no, and there will not be, any out-of-court settlement with the Marcos family." The "ball" is now in the solo court of the Sandiganbayan which should finish and decide the forfeiture suit pending before it since 1991!!!!

Or are they waiting for a future forum of constitutional amendments - the only valid forum above settled Supreme Court doctrines? Is the "Concord" or the "Cha-cha" which was never in the mind of Estrada during the campaign for the presidency (in fact he was ostensibly against it) not an inspiration coming form the side of the Marcoses to make the necessary corrections of who or what agency can enter into compromise settlements with them, etc.? Is it any wonder the administration is insisting we believe their claim that their idea of constitution-amending is purely focused on "economic" provisions - ostensibly about allowing foreigners to own land but really to include provisions, first of all, on the most significant economic area in the country, viz. the Marcos loot??

October 27, 1999

Industrialist Enrique Zobel showed investigating senators Pimentel and Flavier of the Blue Ribbon Committee a copy of a US treasury deposit certificate worth $161 million which he said belonged to Marcos. Zobel estimated the Marcos wealth to be worth around $100 billion, including $35 billion worth of gold certificates which the late dictator had showed him in October 1988. The two senators had gone to Hawaii to depose Zobel as a third party who possessed "information, documents and other related papers and instruments" on the still-hidden assets of the late strongman.

On the "thick folder" containing gold deposit certificates in places all over the world amounting to more than $35 billion based on the prevailing market price of $400 per ounce, Zobel said: "I felt they were authentic. There was no question about that. I scanned through the certificates. I was openly interested in the number of ounces and the location, and the locations were all over the world."

One commentator present at this testimony remarked:"Enzo did his duty by the Filipino people the best way he knows how. That his blue eyes come with a Batangas accent and humor to match just about sums up the worth of this man's Filipinoness. The worth of his testimony is however a little more difficult to establish."

2000

Where have all the moneys gone? Long time passing. Where have all the treasures gone? Long time ago.

APPENDIX 8

The following is extracted from Eric A. San Juan's book "Marcos Legacy Revisited," courtesy of "Dirk." The preamble and after word is by, author San Juan and the letter itself does exist and was circulated in the "market" soon after it was written.

Since the search for the so-called Marcos fortune began, the nation has been treated to all sorts of reports about cash being stashed in the banks of Switzerland, and gold bullion at Fort Knox, the Bank of England and many places in the Philippines. The diggings at Fort Santiago sanctioned by no less than President Aquino's national security adviser showed how much the government put its faith in the story of the hidden gold treasure.

The diggings have stopped but unknown to the public, a small group of men continues to operate at People's Television 4 station under the tutelage of Conrado Limcaoco Jr, for no higher purpose than to pursue leads about the Yamashita treasure with the assistance of Noel Soriano, the National Security Adviser of Cory Aquino.

In the last failed coup, military rebels claimed to have carted away from PTV-4 documents pertaining to this gold search. On the basis of these papers, the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabayan-Soldiers Of the Filipino People-Young Officers Union claimed that the Limcaoco group had recovered some gold and had gathered facts that lead them to believe the Yamashita treasure exists, but they appeared determined to hide this from the Filipino people.

Limcaoco denies the charges. But he does not deny the existence of his work and what he has been doing. He says that the group's task is to evaluate every bit of inforwhation that comes along, without prejudging it.

Most of what comes along is mind-boggling, but Limcaoco says he is not prepared to reject anything.

Based on the group's work, an October 10, 1989, Limcaoco's staff prepared the draft of a report to President Aquino, which proposes to tell all. Limcaoco says he never signed the letter, and that it was not sent at all. But even without the final signature and without it having been sent, the letter reads better than a story, whether factual or fictional.

The following is Limcaoco's letter to Mrs. Aquno:

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

10 October 1989

CORAZON C. AQUINO
President of the Philippines
Malacanang, Manila

Dear Mrs. President,

I have never waivered in my commitment to serve you and our people over the past few years. Even in our bleakest moments, I was confident we would triumph -- and thus far, we have.

In the course of tracking down the right-wing military adventurists a task which is continuing, we have unearthed a story -- parts of which you may have heard before -- but which we feel deserves a serious second glance at this particular historical conjuncture. I ask you to please read through this report personally and not show or pass it on to other officials of this govemment until we have had the chance to meet, should you feel such a meeting is necessary after going through this. Please suspend your judgment and disbelief and know that this report was written after much in-depth intelligence work and soul-searching on my part.

I. Background/Premises

Our work thus far supports the contention that the Yamashita treasure does exist and appears to be the basis for the Marcos' hidden wealth. What has been recovered and sequestered to date is not even the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Over 90% of the worlds legal and illegal gold production were in Asia at the outbreak of World War II. Why? History will tell us why. From the galleon trade where spices and silk were traded for gold and other precious metals to the days before World War II when the Europeans, fearing a war in the West, moved their gold to their Asian colonies and former colonies for safekeeping. Thus, England moved their gold to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia -France to Vietnam, and so forth. The rest you know. The Japanese brought the gold here and had to leave it here as they retreated in defeat

From 1967 to 1973, Cipirino Garcia Sta. Romana found some of this gold and began shipping it out of the country mostly to the PROC. In 1973/4, Sta. Romana signed a power of attorney over the gold to Marcos. More of the treasure was found with the help of treasuro maps, foreign treasure hunters and the AFP (many of the retired generals now in Hawaii) in subsequent years. It was either (1) shipped out as is, (2) laundered via the Central Bank reminting facilities and through other means and then shipped out, or (3) reburied under the custodianship of trusted subalterns or heirs. Further, there reportedly is still 35-37% of the treasure still to be discovered -- which the likes of Noel Soriano and company have set their eyes on.

II. The Global Implications

There is a forty (40) year period within which another country may claim treasure/property taken from it with another country. This period lapsed in November 1985.

An interesting question is -- who owns the gold? Or better still -- who wants the gold? Technically, now the people of the Philippines can lay some claim to the gold, assuming Marcos was not an innocent "finder" or "treasure hunter" entitled to a share, but instead used his position and influence to find it, ship it out, and even sell some of it. To answer the question --

The countries of Europe want the gold! They believe much of it was theirs to begin with. They want or need it so much they are even willing to buy some of it back. A 1983/84 sale we are reconstructing indicates that the 11 monarchs of Europe syndicated a deal involving over 120 banks with the Bank of England as the lead bank to buy back some of the gold. This transaction is known by the code JOB/HK/25 which I will detail later.

The 12 Asian countries conquered and plundered by Japan in World War II want the gold! They believe they have a stake in this as it was from their countries that the Japanese took it from. Marcos struck deals with many of these Asian countries. He shipped back some of the gold to them in return for a share in the booty. For example, the gold shipped back to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India are reportedly split now at 70% of the particular country and 30% for Marcos. Japan allegedly has been promised 50% of Marcos 30% in these Asian settlements. Mrs. Yamashita has alleged shares in some of the gold stock in Asia. I will also detail this later in this report.

The United States of America wants some of the gold! The US had virtually no gold of its own to begin with. They need it to back their currency and to stave off economic difficulties. Marcos shipped large stocks of gold to the USA. Marcos allegedly committed to sell 300,000 metric tons of the gold to the US. Obviously, the Asian countries and the Europeans would look with displeasure at this -- if they knew about it or could prove it We have evidence that at least 2 major sales were negotiated with CIA and US Treasury front organizations in 1983/4 and 1984/5. One of these transactions in 1984/5 codenamed YAB42 was apparently aborted because of a difference in payment terms. The US offered 20% in cash and 80% in US government securities.

Marcos wanted 80% in cash and 20% in securities. The amount involved is staggering. A taped conversation with one of the buyer negotiators indicate that senior executive officials of the US Government during the period had to get Congressional approval to increase the US foreign debt to accommodate this deal. As late as mid-1986, US officials were trying to convince Marcos to conclude the deal in Hawaii. In 1987, feelers from their front organizations -- e.g., Navegacion Global's Mr. Bullock were sent to this government (A letter from Mr. Bullock was received by Malacanang Records Office last October 8, 1987 and is enclosed as Annex A). I believe some of our people may have even sat with Mr Bullock. I do not think they knew what Bullock vas really up to -- or understood or believed him if he told them. We allegedly have gold sitting in US depositories -- which the US government wants badly. They reportedly cannot release their new "rainbow dollar" (multicolored dollar bills) that are already printed without this gold to back it up.

III. The Marcos Scheme of Things

Marcos compartmentalized this whole operation so that very few could piece it all together. We have managed to assemble quite a number of Marcos' real operating people -- those that shipped the gold out, found the buyers, negotiated the transactions We are slowy piecing the puzzle together.

For each Marcos account, whether in cash or in bullion, these are assigned trustees and signatories -- some of whom do not even know each other. There are secret bank/depository arrangements such as access code and security countersigns.

Before his death, Marcos organized what is called THE UMBRELLA, a network of 54 people whose task is to manage these assets in the event of his death. In theory, the umbrella, not Mrs. Marcos or his children would execute his will. At least two members of the umbrella's inner core of about one dozen are already working with us. The umbrella has never been tested in action before. Marcos has never died before. Those who now work with me tell me that the chairman of the umbrella is a very decent man who can be talked to on behalf of our nation. Apparently, there is no sharp cleavage between this group (family, heirs, followers, etc.) and Imelda's. Most of what we know is FM's not Imelda's. It is doubtful that even she would know all of FM's holdings. The destabilization efforts will most probably come from Imelda's camp not surprisingly. Marcos is reported to have revised his will a few months before he died, asking former Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza to Hawaii for this purpose. Imelda was reportedly vehemently against the revision. We are trying, through the umbrella, to get a copy of this will.

Exactly how much gold is involved? The estimates vary, and understandably so because of the complex shipping procedures and the compartmentalized nature of the operation.

I have seen documents saying that the gold under the control of the umbrella (there are smaller stocks not reported to or controlled by the umbrella) is in the neighborhood of 1.33 million metric tons (MT). Whether one believes this figure or a lessor figure is not material given the magnitude of the entire scenario. One metric ton of gold is worth
about $11 million. The Phippines' annual gold production is estimated at between 40-60 metric tons The world's "legal" annual gold production, which is regulated by the London gold cartel so as not to upset gold pricesas well as the value of currencies of the world, is estimated at between 1,200 to 1,400 metric tons.

So, where is the gold? How much of it have we traced thus far?

IV. Where Is It?

Our sources have pinpointed the locations, volume, and details of many of the Marcos and Imelda gold accounts around the world.

We have left out the volume figures for countries other than the United States which are relevant for understanding points raised in other sections of the report We do have the detailed breakdown of these other accounts in the other countries but thought it best to omit these for now. The volume/amounts involved are staggering and may be subject to misinterpretation There is admittedly a possibility in some instances of double-counting an entry because of the process of shipping and laundering the gold from one country to another. We can present the figures per country and per bank should you wish to see them.

Whatever volume figures are ultimately believed or proven, the magnitude remains astounding. The gold was shipped out in a span of more than a decade from the late sixties to the mid-eighties. In the later frenzied stages from 1983-85, all forms of transport were used from commercial and chartered ocean vessels and aircraft to the military aircraft of the Philippines.

A. Asia

1. PROC -- in various depositories in Southern China & Switzerland; joint IRM/FM stock

-- an amount allegedly given to Mao Tse Tung by IRM, 1973, now with Madam Mao

2. Singapore -- in three banks in Singapore; banks and signatories identified

-- an amount reportedly given to Lee Kuan Yew by IRM in 1975, now in Tatlee Bank, Singapore

3. Malaysia -- in Bank Negara (Central bank), shipped 1973

4. Indonesia -- in at least 4 banks in Jakarta, 9,600 MT sold in 1987 for FM to Union Bank of Switzerland

5. India -- in various depositories; one 94 year-old trustee identified

6. Hong Kong -- in 10 Hong Kong banks; banks, signatories, account numbers, etc. identified

7. Marianas -- in private storage, IRM's stock; trustee identified

8. Palau -- in private storage, IRM's stock, trustee identified

9. Philippines -- 4,600 pieces, 75 kgs. in 18 identified banks in Metro Manila

-- more in private storage, some identified

-- more still to be dug up estimated at 400,000 MT

NOTES: Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 which are FM stocks are probably covered by the 70-30 deal with each country. No. 1 still has to be studied further, as both IRM and Madame Mao are no longer in their respective nation's political structures. Nos. 7 & 8 are also IRM stocks and are not probably covered by the 70-30 deal. Japan and Mrs. Yamashita have their stakes here as mentioned. Mrs. Yamashita is co-owner of some Hongkong stock (already identified). Japan may expect 50% of FM's 30% in these Asian settlements.

A. US and Environs

1. 38,000 MT -- various identified depository banks in New York

2. 72,000 MT -- Fort Knox, account no. identified

3. 18,300 MT -- in a New York bank; signatories, account codes identified

4. 62,000 MT -- various identified depository banks; Canada, Nevada, California, and Panama

NOTES: These were shipped out covering a period of more than 10 years from 1973-1983, The MAFIA and the CIA helped ship it, including some monitored shipments through Clark Air Base. Nos. 1 & 2 formed the stock for the YAB42 transaction to be detailed later Nos. 3 & 4 were also being sold in 1983-1985. It is doubtful any of these transactions were actually consumated.

5. Bahamas -- Banco Bahamas; trustee identified

6. Panama -- Bank of Panama; possible 1983 sales through Navegacion Global's Bullock

B. Europe

1. England -- in 4 identified London depository banks; IRM's stock

-- shipped 1978-85, flown to and reminted in Switzerland, then on to London in GLD bars

2. Switzerland -- in various depository banks, some banks and signatories identified

3. FRG -- in various depositories in Luxembourg and Bonn

-- Fabian Ver and Edna Camcam's account, some lent to back up FRG's currency

C. Africa -- FM owns 40% of 4 leading gold mining and processing firms

V. Some Transactions Worth Looking At

We must differentiate between the movement of the stock, its ultimate destination, and its final disposition in the event it was sold. The movement often required numerous transit points and sometimes "laundering" services like those provided by Johnson Matthey reminting refineries in England and Switzerland or by the Golden Eagle reminting plant in Hong Kong and even possibly by our awn Central Bank refinery in Quezon City. The original form of the treasure was varied and often indicated their countries of origin -- e.g. 75 kg., 91.33 kg. bars with various 'hallmarks" like "Suhatra-Loyd," a dragon, AAA, etc. Internationally, the 12.5 4 GLD or Good London Delivery bar is the recognized unit of gold that is numbered and registered in the London Commodity Computer by batches with indicated owners. These GLDs in batches are covered by Gold Bullion Certificates (GBCs) that are also registered in the London computer If GLDs are bought and sold, it is often not necessary to effect a, physical transfer of the stock but merely to credit and debit or swap equivalent currency or other GLDs or GBCs.

In 1983, FM gave the signal to start selling his gold in grand fashion. This was perhaps triggered by the unrest and re-awakening after 21 August. Literally hundreds of gold buyers, traders, brokers, and middlemen converged in Manila in the years 1983-85, FM issued "mandates" to select people to sell this gold for him (A sample of a "mandate" granted to a certain Konsehala Candelaria V. Santiago is enclosed as Annex B). Others managed to secure "sub-mandates" from the original mandate holders. Still others produced "fake mandates" that they used to con some buyers with to give them hefty advances. We have some of the real mandate holders working with us.

In passing, today there are over 160 gold buyers and brokers now in Manila reminiscent of the 1983-85 years anticipating gold sales by FM heirs or this governments representatives. I understand a few "looseleaf" pieces of 75 kg. bars have already been sold.

Three schemes to sell the gold were conceived in this period. First, the CB Treasury bills method where gold buyers agreed to purchase CB Treasury bills equivalent to the amount of gold they were buying. Then they would redeem these CB T-bills for gold upon maturity of these notes. Second, the loan method where buyers guarantee to lend the GRP money equivalent to the gold they were buying. Using this second method, it could well be that many of our debts are not really debts but are already paid for in gold. How else can one explain the seemingly easy credit FM enjoyed with the ADB, the WB, and the IMF and their prime banks? And this could explain the cavalier spending of these loan proceeds for personal ends. Our sources say that the very top echelon of the WB and the IMF know of this. Why are they now putting on the screws for our loans? Possibly because we have not concluded YAB42. Third, the direct sale, method where after a while the sheer magnitude of the gold being sold could no longer be sanitized by either of the two methods described earlier outright sales agreements gold were negotiated.

We have a good deal of documentary evidence to prove that gold transactions were indeed negotiated by front organizations as well as legitimate banks in those years.

To highlight a few...

1. The YAB42 transaction. This was negotiated in late 1984, early 1985. As reported, this was initiated by the US government through the US Treasury and the CIA. Front organizations; and personalities were used to make the deal ostensibly a non-governmental transaction. Dr. Ole Bay (YAB is BAY backwards) was the main trustee of the buyers' group (A Trust Exchange Agreement and a Funding Trust Pay Order between seller and buyer in transaction code YAB42 are enclosed as Annex C). Navegacion Global SA, Dupont, and other CIA conduits were used.

Forty-two (42) other major trusts were tapped to help fund this purchase. Senior US officials even called FM to confirm the veracity of the mandate holder negotiating for "the seller." Close to 100 prime banks pledged their participation in helping fund the purchase. The US offered 20% cash or $200 billion through these trusts and banks and 80% in US government securities. Using the $200 billion cash as 20% of the transaction, this transaction would then involve 110,000 MT or over $1 trillion. The stock for this transaction appears to be the 38,000 MT in New York and the 72,000 MT in Ft. Knox which total exactly 110,000 MT. In June 1986, US government representatives reportedly asked FM to conclude YAB42 and turn over the 72,000 MT in Ft. Knox He declined. Earlier, FM signed over the 38,000 MT in New York which the US government found insufficient. In 1987, Navegacion Global's Bruce Bullock tried to make contact with this government, possibly to conclude this transaction.

2. In 1983-84, we have evidence of another transaction involving a minimum 62,000 MT up to a maximum of 81,000 MT negotiated with Frank Higdon, another reported CIA intermediary (Investment loans offered to the Philippine Government which is repayable with 62,321 MT of gold bars is enclosed as Annex D). The stock for this appears to be the 62,000 MT in 4 locations in mainland America plus the 18,300 MT in Citibank, New York. It is doubtful this transaction was consumwhated as these stocks have reportedly been recently verified to still be in place.

3. The JOB/HK/25 transaction. In 1983-84, 29,327 MT was reportedly sold to the 11 monarchs of Europe with over 120 prime banks participating with the Bank of England as the lead buyer's bank. The proceeds are allegedly sitting in ledger credits to the seller in the seller's banks and even in some buyer banks. The PNB Singapore and New York branches were actively involved in this transaction and the key officers of these banks then can reportedly identify where these seller credits are located. In commissions alone, there is a reported P200 B/$10 B commission for the transaction's brokers credited to the PNB through the CB sent from the Chemical Bank of New York. There is an additional $63 million in commissions for this transaction at the AMEX Bank in Hong Kong. The brokers who are claiming these commissions are with us providing us inforwhation on this deal and are willing to negotiate with this government

4. The Central Bank of the Philippines may not be able to balance their books as far as gold is concerned. A July report by a senior Central Bank official to the PCGG prompted by preliminary inforwhation on this project we passed on to the PCGG does not reconcile with other CB data we have on gold transactions for the 1984-85 period alone.

Further, our sources say that there is at least 5,000 MT of gold in the CB vaults in Manila and Quezon City. A recent Chronicle article indicates that COA may be getting some wind of this (The newspapers reports that Central Bank has violated audit standards such as under-recording of its actual gold acquisitions and the same is enclosed as Annex E). We have the GBC number of this gold in the CB vaults. Our sources say that senior CB officials may have begun to cover their tracks by moving the gold out or logging it under someone else's account number. Very simple, let us conduct a surprise physical count of the gold in both CB vaults. If this is true, without working on the rest of what we have uncovered, then this government will be richer by, $55 billion.

The original GBC was for seven sub-lots of 1,000 MT each. Sub lots 2 and 4 have already been disposed of leaving a balance 5,000 MT. Remember, our total annual gold production is only 60 MT and our declared gold reserves are possibly only in hundreds of metric tons.

5. We have evidence to support October 1983 transaction of 1,000 MT of FM gold deposited at a PCIB branch under FM trustee Alice Lazo (deceased). The buyer was Mr. Van Dreck of a organization called MERCANTUS (A PC Bank offer to sell gold to Mercantus International Establishment and an irrevocable Purchase Order by the latter are enclosed as Annex F). What business does a local bank have keeping and selling 1,000 MT of gold? Apparently, this transaction was consumated.

These are but some of the transactions we have been able to piece together We do have some documentary evidence, but our main sources are testimonies from the people who were actually involved in these transactions who are now cooperating with us.

VI. Evaluation and Assessment

We have substantial documentation that by their sheer volume indicate these gold transactions did take place.

More important, we now have in our protective custody, key actors that actually helped FM on an operational level. Their testimonies have helped us piece this extremely complex puzzle together. More importantly, they are Wiling to assist in the recovery effort of the government. They are key actors -- trustees, part-owners, signatories, umbrella members who could be vital in "unlocking" these accounts.

Why are they helping us? Partly out of a sense of patriotism. They are not rich -- many of their relatives are impoverished. They believe that it would be criminal to allow the nation to suffer in economic deprivation when something can be done relatively quickly to correct it. Quite frankly, they also hope for a just reward to be granted by this government for their assistance together with the necessary immunities from suit and documents to allow them to spend their reward or commission. This is one of the aspects needing your approval -- the amounts or percentages should be negotiated on a case to case basis depending on the assistance given and the amount to be recovered.

They have put their trust in me for the moment. Loyal FM and IRM henchmen would definitely not look kindly on their efforts to assist us.

We would have proceeded to develop this project further except that certain factors compelled me to bring this matter to your attention now.

First, FM died -- unleashing a host of now unpredictable events that may make purposive action on our end moot and academic. What was in his will? Will the umbrella or can the umbrella execute his will? What will IRM and his other relatives do? What will the host of account trustees and signatories do? What will the banks and depositories do? We are trying to ascertain the answers to some of these questions.

Second, the project has grown to a scope now requiring your knowledge, and to use an FM term, your "mandate" to proceed in directions you agree with. I am not funded for an operation of this scope. To develop this project to this point has cost nearly P300,000 of borrowed money. We now have our "assets" in various safehouses and lodging areas. Soon, one of our "assets' will go abroad to contact the umbrella's chairman to check the contents of FM's will and his willingness to help our government and our people. I am totally loyal to our people's interest through you and word may get to you from other sources that I am in touch with "loyalists." I need you to know what it is I am doing.

Third, you are scheduled to take your second state visit to the US next month. Some of our information may have impact on that visit. At the very least, you are appraised of what we have gathered to fathom any subtle messages that the US officials may send to you. At most, we may be able to put together enough conclusive data to allow you to bring the matter up to President Bush, if not in November at some other opportune moment.

What do we have as far as the recovery of FM's ill-gotten wealth? A few hundred million dollars from deals with overt FM cronies the sale of some identified FM assets (buildings, paintings, and other properties) and court cases here, in Switzerland, and in the United States.

Lately, there are those who propose a "master settlement" approach, meaning one negotiation with possibly IRM or the representatives FM. This "master settlement" may involve the return of FM's remains and/or some of his exiled relatives and henchmen. I agree with these conditions should be rejected at the moment for national security reasons. Also, one negotiation will not work because those that propose it are at best making "educated guesses" about the amount of the ill-gotten wealth that is the basis for negotiation. The PCGG has even recently proposed, holding public discussion groups to try to get more inforwhation on the whereabouts of the wealth and amounts involved.

Lastly, it is doubtful that IRM or any one of the FM heirs would know all or even most of his wealth much less make a full disclosure of what little they may know during these negotiations. A "master settlement" on the wealth by those that propose it presently may not result in a fair deal for our government

On the other hand, negotiated settlements on a case to case basis based on more precise intelligence inforwhation and with the cooperation of the principals involved (the trustees, banks/depositors) in a given case or account may lead to faster and fairer results for our government The ex-FM operatives we are talking to are not politically motivated and place no political pre-conditions (e.g. the return of FM's remains or relatives) on assisting us.

Even if a fraction of what we have uncovered is true, moving on it correctly and recovering some of it for our people could alter the course of our history.

VII. Proposed Courses of Action and Vital Considerations

1. Agree to a detailed presentation only to you or what we have uncovered to date.

2. Allow us to continue the project to pinpoint concrete action proposals for your approval.

In this regard, a reporting/feed back mechanism directly to you must be set up. Some funding support is also needed even at this preparatory stage.

3. The concrete action proposals will probably take the form of proposed negotiated settlements with the parties involved aimed at recovering FM's share for our government and our people. Each negotiated settlement will be different in nature. Some may even be on a country to country basis, requiring your direct intervention ( e.g. the US and some of the Asian countries). Most will be between specific banks, trustees, and signatories and our government. I will detail some possible negotiated settlement formulas when we get to meet

4. There are some action proposals that can be done here immediately like the Central Bank gold and the PNB/CB sale proceeds and commissions outlined earlier. Due to the sensitive nature of these actions and the possible involvement of senior officials of this and the previous government, I propose we discuss this in private.

5. On the local front, some of the trustees/owners/caretakers of the gold already discovered but stored here in our country have come to me to explore the possibilities of negotiated settlements. Initially, some 3,000 MT of gold has been offered. I have been told, if this succeeds, there is much more. I have asked that they bring me proof positive -- gold bars to show you and a visit by me to the site of the gold stockpile -- before I bring this whatter up to you for your consideration.

6. In all negotiated settlements, we must exact a commitment and activate a monitoring mechanism to ensure that the monies released to parties other than our government are not used to destabilize our government

7. Trust is a vital dimension to this undertaking! Our newfound "partners" -- the FM trustees, signatories, and caretakers have placed their trust in this government through me and you -- whom they believe I report to directly. Some of them have had "sad experiences" with others in our government, the details of which I would rather discuss privately. I ask in turn for your continued trust and guidance without which we cannot proceed with this task nor hope to succeed. Greater men than I have risked their names and reputations on parts of this puzzle -- some have failed, others have had dubious interests at heart. I find myself in a situation where I must try to see this through its conclusions -- because success means a better life for all of us.

CONRADO A. LIMCAOCO, JR.

NOTE- The small stocks being referred to here by Mr. Limcaoco are actually the so-called unrecorded accounts of Imelda and FM's children. I was earlier told by one trustee that some of these smaller stocks were a part of Mrs-Marcos' compromise deal with the US. Government, in exchange for her acquittal in the New York court.

The photocopy of Mr. Limcaoco's letter to Pres. Cory Aquino was given to me by a RAM officer who is now living, in the U.S.A. and had a role to play among Col. Red Kapunan's group who took over Channel 4 at the height of the 1989 RAM-SFP-YOU coup d'etat. Some concerned citizens at hotel coffee shops have circulated other similar photocopies.

Even the defunct Newsday dated February 27, 1990 printed the same.

Limcaoco's Gold Recovery Program had successfully controlled the part of the Marcos gold specifically that taken from the Napindan Channel. This was the very reason why the Yellow Army particularly saw to it that Channel 4 should be the first target area to recover. The barricades erected surrounding the TV station's perimeter were dismantled only after "the loot" had been successfully brought out and transferred to "safer" ground. Thus, the persuasion flight of the U. S. Phantom Jet.

At this point, I would like to reiterate the misconception that the Marcos gold was the Yamashita treasure. The mere mention of Sta. Romana's name and other long existing gold accounts as having never been moved until the time Marcos gained control over them, including those at Fort Knox, strongly confirms that the Marcos gold had been successfully amassed from different sources.

Filipinos target B.C. companies, family to get Marcos loot

2009-06-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

Thu, April 21 2005
A series of B.C. companies are being targeted by a group of Filipinos who are seeking a human-rights judgment against the estate of the late Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.

The companies are linked to the family of a Marcos crony Jose Y. Campos of Vancouver who has already turned over US$130 million worth of stocks and other assets to Manila.

Imelda & Ferdinand Marcos

In a federal lawsuit filed in Fort Worth, Texas this month, the group of Filipinos claims that seven large tracts of land in Tarrant County totaling 4,180 acres, was allegedly bought in the 1970s and 1980s by a third party using money Marcos had stolen from the Philippines.

Tarrant County is located in the north central part of Texas.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed are 9,539 Filipinos who claim they are victims or heirs of victims who were tortured, executed or who disappeared under the Marcos regime.

Marcos governed the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, when he was deposed in the "People Power" revolution.

His rule was marked by widespread corruption, the extravagance of his wife, Imelda, abuse and political repression.

After Marcos was ousted, he fled to Hawaii, where he died in 1989.

The Philippines government is also seeking the return of nearly US$4 billion dollars it says was pilfered from citizens of the Philippines by the family and friends of the former dictator.

As of 1998, the Philippine government said it had recovered US$941 million, but it is believed that millions of dollars are still hidden in international bank accounts and other investments.

The group, which filed the Texas lawsuit this month, received a US$2 billion judgment in 1995 after filing a class-action lawsuit in 1986 in Hawaii, but that number has grown to US$3.8 billion with interest.

It has been trying to collect from the Marcos estate to pay the judgment.

The Tarrant County land was bought by shell corporations and is beneficially owned by the Estate of Ferdinand Marcos, the new suit alleges.

Included is a 330-acre tract of land that is being considered by its current owner, Ellesmere Corp., and Margaux Development Co. in Dallas, for a 2 million-square-foot shopping center.

In 1986, the Tarrant County land was the focus of another federal lawsuit, filed in Houston by the Philippine government, which is also out to seize the assets of Marcos' estate.

Robert Swift, a Philadelphia lawyer who has represented that class action for 19 years, said that lawsuit was "settled quietly" and the land was not turned over to the Philippine government. As a result, the new court action is to go after those assets, Swift said, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

If successful, the land would be foreclosed upon and then sold, he said.

"This has been hard-fought litigation," Swift said.

Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos shows a Colombian-made telephone handset shaped into a shoe during a 1999 interview.
According to the new suit, the local land was bought by Jose Y. Campos, a Marcos confidant and investment adviser beginning in the mid-1950s.

Campos allegedly bought the land using offshore companies. When Marcos was removed from office, Campos asserted his ownership of the property, and members of the Campos family now control it, the suit says.

In addition to the companies planning the shopping mall, the lawsuit claims that the land was bought through several entities, including B.N. Development Co., 921 acres; Jason Development Co., 605 acres; Langley Investment Corp., 358 acres; Pender Investment Corp., 890 acres; Revelstoke Investment Corp., 130 acres; and Vernon Investment Corp., 946 acres.

According to Texas comptroller's records, the companies share many of the same directors and officers, including individuals who live in Hong Kong and Vancouver, Canada. The records list Jeffery Campos and Joselito Campos as directors.

Swift said the land is worth more than US$50 million. The Tarrant Appraisal District lists it at more than US$16 million.

Donald Silverman, managing partner at Margaux, one of the companies involved, downplayed the lawsuit as a "fishing expedition" and said that his company will move forward with its development plans.

"The only thing that connects the property [to the Marcos family] is that the investors are from the Philippines," he told the Fort Worth newspaper.

Jose Campos, described as the bagman closest to Marcos, told Philippine investigators tracking the plundered loot that he had organized 40 companies to move millions of dollars of Marcos's money around the world.

In a written statement made in Vancouver in the mid-eighties he claimed to have felt betrayed by the Marcos family and surrendered control of millions of dollars worth of real estate in the Philippines.

Philippine investigators also believe that a Toronto apartment complex and an investment in a chain of Canadian drug stores may be owned by associates of Marcos. They have claimed that Marcos cronies had secretly invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Canadian real estate, retailing and oil and gas.

Campos is not the only person who is thought to have fled to B.C. with some of the Marcos loot.

Another Marcos crony is former textile magnate Dewey Go Dee, who lives in Richmond with his wife and four children.

Dee fled the Philippines in 1981, leaving behind some US$85 million in debts and triggering the near-collapse of the country's financial system.

He faced 176 criminal charges in the Philippines, including "economic sabotage." Court documents claim Dee smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars out of his homeland for Marcos, while some suspect he double-crossed the dictator and took his money.

Dee entered Canada from Costa Rica on a tourist visa and was granted refugee status in 1986 by the Immigration Appeal Board.

Other Marcos associates tracked to Vancouver include two individuals, George Delmas and Toto Mabanta who operated First Vancouver Securities Inc., a company that purchased a seat on the Vancouver Stock Exchange.

Former BC premier Glen Clark had raised the issue of this company in the B.C. parliament when he was in the opposition.

He wanted to know why the then ruling Socred government had not kept its eye on the "Marcos company" which he claimed had arranged financing for 12 other companies before it was shut down.

PCGG continues hunt for Marcos loot

2009-06-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ill-gotten wealth found in another country

By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:30:00 02/02/2009

Filed Under: Crime and Law and Justice

MANILA, Philippines—With no more Marcos ill-gotten wealth cases pending in Switzerland, the Presidential Commission on Good Government is training its sights on another country where it believes it can recover “millions” more of the late dictator’s hidden booty, PCGG Commissioner Jaime Bautista said.

Bautista told the Inquirer that the PCGG in November was able to retrieve documents from a country, which he refused to name, that supposedly showed the presence of “millions” in alleged Marcos ill-gotten wealth.

“This is potentially very large, definitely in the millions, we’re talking about millions of US dollars,” said Bautista, adding that naming the country now could jeopardize PCGG efforts to recover the assets.

From the new documents,” we have found the basis to take action,” Bautista said without elaborating.

In November last year, it was reported that Liechtenstein had granted the Philippines’ new petition for legal assistance and the transfer to the PCGG of documents to trace ill-gotten wealth.

The PCGG’s previous petition in July 1987 was rejected by Liechtenstein. However, due to recent changes in Liechtenstein’s laws regarding mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, a new Philippine petition was granted last year.

The PCGG announced last month that it had won the last pending Marcos ill-gotten wealth case in Switzerland amounting to $8.6 million.

The victory came after the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in December dismissed the appeal of GEI Inc. filed on behalf of former Marcos associate Ignacio B. Jimenez, to prevent the transfer of the GEI account to the PCGG. The Swiss Court decision was final and executory.

“This is the last. There’s nothing more pending in Switzerland. But of course the freeze order on all Marcos accounts in that country is still in effect. So once a new account is discovered, we’ll go after it,” Bautista said.

The PCGG has recovered a total of P83.96 billion in Marcos ill-gotten wealth since it was formed in 1986 and has turned over the funds to the government’s agrarian reform program. Of this amount, around P26.5 billion was recovered after 2005.

MARCOS GOLD BULLIONS

2009-06-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

My title

page contents

The issue of Marcos' gold has hit the headlines since Atty. Robert Swift submitted during an LA Court hearing last 29 September 1997 documents on two incidents of Marcos gold transfers, their sale and subsequent deposit in other secret accounts reportedly done by Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. last June-July and June 1997 amounting to $466 million and $23 million, respectively.

Upon submission of documents and cross-examination of witnesses presented by human rights lawyer, Atty. Robert Swift, to the LA Court, Judge Manuel Real issued a preliminary injunction to prohibit the movement and transfer of reported Marcos gold, certificates and money in the banks cited in the documents.

The details regarding these transfers were reportedly contained in a letter by Reiner Jacobi on August 8, 1997 to President Ramos which the latter admitted having received and endorsed subsequently to the PCGC for action.

The secret transfer of Marcos gold was initiated by the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) as early as 1986.

The first Transfer: 1.1 million troy ounces of gold

1986: the first transfer involved 1.1 million troy ounces of gold (30+ tons) which were deposited in five separate banks.
1993: these were sold and the proceeds of this sale were deposited in the Swiss Bank Corporation (SUC).
In June-July 1997 the money was transferred from the SBC to the Bank Julius Baer (BJB) totaling $466 million.
The $466 million was deposited in a corporate account of the PNOC, allegedly by a certain Enrique (as verified by Robert Swift) Vasquez on 30 June.
On 10 July, the proceeds were transferred to another account, the Marcan Account, Inc. in the same bank (BJB). Among the directors of Marcan, Inc. were a Mr. Castro and a Mr. N. Vasquez, according to the Jacobi letter to the President.
On 16 July, PCGG Chair Gunigundo was said to have met Reiner Jacobi. It was discussed that alleged friends of President Ramos opened two accounts at a Swiss bank where at least $466 million of the laundered Marcos gold proceeds were also deposited (PDI 9 October 1997).
In the same meeting, Gunigundo seemed shocked over the fact that money was being laundered behind his back ("Oh my God, they have done a deal behind my back", he said). Jacobi claims he taped the conversation with Gunigundo (PDI 9 Oct. 1997).
The second transfer: two tons of gold

The second transaction involved two tons of gold worth $23 million which money was withdrawn from the Union Bank of Switzerland.
June 12, 1997: According to Jacobi, Rothschild and Sons based in Zurich bought one ton of the Marcos gold from UBS on this day. (PDI 10 Oct. 1997)
June 12, 1997: Acting on behalf of UBS, Citibank Zurich also sold a ton of gold to Sun Hung Kuf, a licensed gold dealer based in HK. (PDI 10 Oct 1997)
June 12-13, 1997: Proceeds from the sale of two tons of gold amounting to$23 million were deposited in the Standard Chattered Bank of HK, according to earlier reports.
Despite the letters sent to Mr. Ramos aBout the laundering, Jacobi and his associate, Dr. David Chaikin, who served as his lawyer, did not receive any response from Manila.
After waiting for a week and receiving information that the laundering still continued, Jacobi and Chaikin decided to terminate their work for the government in August of 1997.
Jacobi and Chaikin contacted human rights claimants' lead counsel Robert Swifr and made available to him documentary evidence on the movements of the Marcos gold.
On 5 September, 1997, the LA Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order on money transfers to the three banks involved: the UBS, the Bank Julius Baer and the Standard Chartered Bank of Hongkong. The TRO was to expire on 30 September.
29 September: A preliminary injunction was ordered by the LA Court on the two banks involved in the reported laundering, the Union Bank of Switzerlandand the Bank Julius Baer. Meanwhile, the Standard Chartered Bank of Hongkong agreed to extend the freeze order made earlier on 5 September by the LA Court to the period covered by the preliminary injunction.
Evidences Submitted to LA Court

August 18 Ritter Memo

August 18, 1997 Peter Ritter Memo. Dr. Peter Ritter was the administrator of the Sandy foundation which handles the Marcos gold accounts. The Memo was submitted by Atty. Bob Swift to the LA Court.
The Memo affirmed the laundering that was taking place and mentioned the presence of an account of the Philippine President in the Bank Julius Baer.
Prior to the September 29 Hearing, Bob Swift sent a copy of the August 18 Ritter Inter-Office Memo to the office of Gen. Almonte, requesting the latter to comment on the document before its presentation to the court.
The Philippine Government never responded to Swift's letter (it is standard operating procedure that government offices respond within a period of 16 days to official communications made to them). Instead, the government sent a copy of the Memo to its Philippine Ambassador in Berne who in turn, Magtanggol Gunigundo admitted in the Senate Hearings, gave this to the Swiss government who turned this over to the Swiss banks.
By the time the 29 September Hearing took place in LA, after Bob Swift presented as evidence the August 18 Ritter Inter-Office Memo, a September 24 Ritter Memo was produced by the Swiss banks disowning the August 18 Memo.
September 24 Ritter Retraction

Thus, the August 18 Ritter Memo was contested by the Swiss banks on the Sept. 29 hearing with a declaration allegedly from Ritter saying the Aug. 18 Memo was a forgery. (Signatures of Ritter in the August 18 Memo and Sept. 29 affidavit did not match).
February 6, 1974 Marcos Letter of Authority to Peter Ritter as Administrator of Sandy Foundation
On Feb. 6, 1974, Marcos appointed Ritter as administrator of Sandy Foundation (sometimes referred to as Anstalt). The agreement was executed in Lichtenstein, Switzerland by both Marcos and Ritter. Ritter's signature in the 1974 document bore the same slant (sloping to the right and a bit angular) as his signature in the August 18, 1997 Memo and a September 14 Memo. In both memos, the Sandy Foundation stationery was used, and the name underneath the signature was Dr. Peter Ritter-Jurus.
September 14, 1997 Ritter Memo

The making and signing of the Sept. 14 Memo was witnessed by Anthony Silano, a witness for the human rights victims who testified in an LA court on Sept. 29 that he had seen the Marcos gold bullion.
Ritter in this Memo said that since 1986 "there have been a number of sales of the precious metal, including the sale of two tons during 12-13 June 1997. As of 30 June 1997, the precious metal accounts totaled approximately 1,240 tons. This is separate from the substantial currency and securities accounts of Sandy Anstalt held at UBS, which is also beneficially owned by the Marcos family."
July/August Communications

(Between Reiner Jacobi and CHR Magtanggol Gunigundo)

The July - August Wait

July 16, 1997. Meeting between Reiner Jacobi and Gunigundo in Manila. According to Jacobi, Gunigundo expressed shock that laundering of the Marcos money was going on in Bank Julius Baer among "friends" of President Ramos who opened two accounts where the $466 million was deposited. Gunigundo disclosed this laundering to Jacobi. "They have done a deal behind my back," Gunigundo allegedly told Jacobi re laundering.
According to Jacobi's August 8 letter to President Ramos, the money transfer was internal to the bank.
On June 30, the $466 million was deposited in an account under the name of the PNOC at the Bank Julius Baer. The PNOC account was controlled by a "Nazaro Vasquez", Ill said, according to his sources within the Swiss banking system. When checked out by Robert Swift, the name he found was Enrique Vasquez.
On July 10, 1997, the proceeds were transferred to an account in the name of a private company called Marcan, Inc. at the same bank (BJB). Among the directors of Marcan, Inc. were a Mr. Castro and a Mr. N. Vasquez, but the signatory to the account was a Mr. N. Vasquez.
Gunigundo told Jacobi that he would relay this information (the 2 new accounts in BJB) to President Ramos when they meet on July 21.
July 21 p.m. Gunigundo called up Jacobi at the EDSA Plaza Shangri-La Hotel. "Good news you'd be happy with the President's decision," MC told IM and the latter thought he would finally be paid as promised at the beginning of the Operation Domino.
Jacobi went back to Australia. He waited for one week, July 22 to 29. He called up Gunigundo on July 29. Gunigundo said that President Ramos asked for one more week. Said President Ramos told him this before he gave his State of the Nation Address before Congress on July 28 over lunch. Jacobi waited for another week.
August 5. Jacobi called Gunigundo up and latter answered: "Well, look, we need to verify this information." He asked for additional information and other documents and his voice sounded different.
Jacobi got mad and refused to give more documents. Jacobi consulted his lawyer, Dr. David Chaikin, a former high official of the Australian government and an expert in extradition and in international mutual assistance.
Chaikin advised Jacobi to write President Ramos that he would now have to proceed with the agenda he described earlier to President Ramos in his July 18 letter.
Jacobi's July 18, 1997 Letter to President Ramos

When David Castro (former PCGG Chair) abandoned Jacobi in HK, he knew he had to defend himself against trumped up charges by the Marcoses. He had various periods of incarceration in 3 different countries for crimes he did not commit. (He was acquitted in charges made against him in both the Australian and HK courts. He was accused of economic espionage by the Swiss government who wanted him extradited from Germany, but this did not push through.)
Suggested that the laundering activity of the Marcoses, which is a crime under U.S. law be exposed. A 10% reward is granted the individual who does the expose and this sum represents an amount only in excess of US $50 million.
If above is not acceptable, Jacobi requested President Ramos for his own action agenda which should, however, include payment either in whole or in part for Jacobi's work. President Ramos did not respond to Jacobi's July 18 letter Jacobi's August 8, 1997 Letter to President Ramos
Thinking that Gunigundo did not give the July 18 letter to President Ramos, Jacobi sent the August 8 letter directly to Malacanang. The following are part of the letter:
"The information that I have obtained has major national security implications. I am particularly concerned that the Chairman (Gunigundo) may not have given you the most sensitive information because of his strong belief that he must protect you at all costs. However, I firmly believe that you are entitled to receive this information as head of the Philippine Government."

Jacobi said he withheld any further documents to Gunigundo re the laundering activities to protect his sources and because of the continual watering down of his information by the Chairman. Jacobi gave President Ramos all the number here he could be reached. The President did not respond.

President Ramos' Response

After the laundering was exposed in a Los Angeles court and in the international media, President Ramos first move was to ask Congress to set the parameters for a compromise agreement with the Marcoses. Then, he tried to discredit Jacobi saying the latter had a string of criminal cases.
The cases referred to are connected with Jacobi's work with the Philippine Government in getting information on the Marcos gold deposits. Two courts, one in HK and one in Australia, cleared him up, particularly on the drug trafficking charge which was proven to be "wholly uncorroborated." Neither was he convicted of the economic espionage case filed in Switzerland (PIJI 9 Oct `97).
The December 28, 1993 CompromIse Agreement

(Crosscurrents, Antonio T. Carpio, Manila Times, 10 October 1992)

The Compromise Agreement consists of a General Agreement and two Supplemental Agreements all signed by Gunigundo and the Marcoses. These agreements are part of the pleadings filed over a year ago by the Marcoses with the Sandiganbayan in support of their petition seeking court approval of the compromise.
The Supplemental Agreement dated July 1994 fixes a "starting" 25% share for the Marcoses. This 25% share "may be upwardly adjusted in favor of the Marcos family based on Their contribution to the joint recovery efforts.
Since there is no ceiling on this upward adjustment, the Marcoses can even claim a 90% share on the ground that without their disclosure and cooperation, there can be no recovery of... the assets.
The Compromise Agreement (CA) does not define clearly what constitutes the Marcos assets that will be shared between the Government and the Marcoses. The loose language used would allow the Marcoses to even demand
share of assets already turned over to the Government, like the assets surrendered by J.Y. Campos, Antonio Florendo, and Roberto Benedicto;
assets already subject of court cases, like the San- Miguel and the UCPB shares.
The CA does not provide for a minimum value of assets that the Marcoses must disclose before the compromise can take effect. The Marcoses can simply disclose what the PCGG already knows about the Marcos assets and claim full compliance with the disclosure requirement.
The CA does not provide a time frame for disclosure of assets. The Marcoses can indefinitely delay the disclosure while the Government is locked into the CA unable to prosecute the civil and criminal cases.
The CA commits the Government to drop all civil and criminal cases against the Marcoses. No time frame or condition precedent is stated before the Govt. is obliged to drop the cases. The Marcoses can demand immediate dismissal of the cases even before they make a frill disclosure of the assets.
The CIA states that the Marcos share "shall be net of, and exempt from, any form of taxes." This is patently illegal since neither The Executive nor the Judicial Departments can exempt ay one from taxes.
The CIA provides that "this Agreement settles all claims and counterclaims which the parties may have against one another, whether past, present, or future, matured or inchoate." This provision is void. The Civil Code provides that "any waiver of an action for future fraud is void." The Agreement seeks to grant the Marcoses immunity from any future fraud that they may commit against the Government.
As pointed out by Antonio T. Carpio, in recommending the rejection of the CIA, the "ill-conceived, poorly drafted, sloppily executed and grossly one-sided (in favor of the Marcoses) compromise agreements will make The Ramos Administration the laughing stock of the Philippine legal and judicial community."
In an earlier article written by Atty. Carpio in the same newspaper, he cited the fact that, aside from the objectionable compromise agreement, Chair Gunigundo was never given the authority by the president to negotiate with the Marcoses through an SPA (special power of attorney).
Given the onerous provisions of the GA and given the fact That this was undertaken wiThout Presidential authority, Mr. Gunigundo evidently negotiated in bad faith, misrepresenting the government and deceiving both the government and the people. That he was given an SPA several months later by Malacanang to continue negotiating with the Marcoses has even raised more questions and objections to his continued stay as PCGG Chair.