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THE Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) said on Monday
that they are ready to defend the government’s right to claim the
$35-million Arelma account allegedly owned by the late strongman,
Ferdinand Marcos.
Narciso Nario, PCGG Commissioner for Legal
Affairs, said their foreign lawyers, in coordination with the Office
of the Solicitor General, will present oral arguments on the case
which will be heard by the United States Supreme Court on March 17.
“We are ready to defend through our oral
arguments,” he said.
Nario expressed belief that the US and Swiss
governments would still support the Philippines in obtaining the
account, despite setbacks in the litigation of the case.
The Arelma account is part of the Marcos wealth
being claimed by several parties, among them, human rights groups.
The account grew to about $35 million due to accruing interests and
investment account earnings.
Records from the PCGG showed that the late
strongman ordered the creation of Arelma Inc., where he transferred
$2 million in funds from his alleged Swiss accounts. The firm, in
turn, invested the money with Merrill Lynch in New York.
The Philippine government, through the Solicitor
General, blocked the interpleader case filed by Merill Lynch in 1986
before the Hawaii District Court, which questioned the move of the
Philippines to obtain the account.
An interpleader is a legal remedy sought to
determine which of two or more parties making the same claim against
another party is the rightful claimant.
Merill Lynch was prompted to file the case after
human rights victims during the Marcos regime sought for a share in
the account.
The Philippine government blocked Merill
Lynch’s move by asserting its sovereign immunity from suits.
However, on May 4, 2006, the Ninth Circuit of
the US Court of Appeals that took over the litigation of the case
dismissed the plea of the Philippine government, saying that
sovereign immunity could not block an interpleader action.
On March 5, 2007, the Philippines government
filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to “vacate the
decision” of the US appellate court.
-- Francis Earl A. Cueto
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