MANILA, Philippines?The Supreme Court has upheld the Sandiganbayan?s dismissal of a complaint against the Philippine Village Hotel and several other corporations that allegedly served as storehouses of the ill-gotten wealth of the family of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and their cronies.

In an 11-page decision penned by Associate Justice Roberto Abad, the high tribunal also affirmed the lifting of the sequestration orders against the corporations owned or controlled by the Enriquez-Panlilio group.

Subjects of the decision were the assets of several corporations owned by alleged Marcos cronies Modesto Enriquez, Trinidad Diaz-Enriquez, Rebecco Panlilio, Erlinda Enriquez-Panlilio, Leandro Enriquez, Don Ferry, Roman Cruz Jr. and Gregorio Castillo.

Their corporations included Ternate Development Corp., Fantasia Filipina Resorts Inc., Monte Sol Development Corp., Ocean Villas Condominium Corp., Olas del Mar Development Corp., Philippine Village Hotel, Philroad Construction Corp., Puerto Azul Beach and Country Club Inc., Silahis International Hotel and Sulo Dobbs Food Services Inc.

The court ruled that the Presidential Commission on Good Government had not proved that the corporations constituted ill-gotten wealth.
?The complaint makes no allegations that respondent corporations had done some acts that violated a right vested by law in the government,? read the decision of the high court?s second division.

The PCGG on July 23, 1987, filed a complaint against the alleged Marcos cronies in the Sandiganbayan for the recovery of ill-gotten wealth.

The government in October 1991 moved to include the corporations in the suit, claiming that they were used to amass ill-gotten wealth.

The Sandiganbayan on Feb. 7, 2002, granted the motions filed by the respondent corporations to dismiss the complaint.

It also lifted the sequestration orders against the corporations.

The government raised its case to the Supreme Court.

But the Supreme Court said: ?With all the sequestration orders, there is no clear showing of a prima facie case that the sequestered properties were ill-gotten wealth.?