Solons hit Sandigan’s bail order for Imelda Marcos: ‘Very double standard’

Opposition lawmakers denounced Friday the Sandiganbayan’s order allowing former First Lady Imelda Marcos to post P150,000 bail, saying it was a “very double standard” move as the amount was “cheap compared to the billions they stole.”

The anti-graft court allowed the Ilocos Norte 2nd District congresswoman to enjoy temporary liberty while the court decides on her motion for leave despite the anti-graft court’s decision convicting her on seven cases of graft.

READ: BREAKING: Sandiganbayan allows Imelda Marcos to post P150K-bail

“Very double standard! Very shameful of the high magistrates of the Sandiganbayan bowing down to the high and mighty Marcoses for the whole world to see. Very disappointing! As if the delay of more than two decades in deciding the case was not enough injustice,” Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao said in a statement.

Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago, for her part, pointed out how measly the bail was compared to the billions of pesos they stole from the public coffers.

“Yung P150,000 bail kay Imelda, piso sale lang kung ikukumpara sa bilyon na ninakaw nila sa bayan. Ang cheap,” Elago lamented. “Ang tagal ng hustisya sa ordinaryong mamamayan, pero pag bailout sa mga Marcos may pa-11.11 sale pa!”

Despite her provisional freedom, Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman said Mrs. Marcos remains a “prisoner of her own conscience,” stressing that “no conscience is so callous as not to be afflicted by guilt and remorse.”

“The massive human rights atrocities and pillage during Marcos’ martial law will perpetually haunt the Marcoses and condemn them to the prison of history,” Lagman added.

Meanwhile, Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin said while the grant of a post-conviction bail to Mrs. Marcos was provided for under the Rules of Court and discretionary on the part of the court, it was “not a matter to be taken lightly and dismiss on account of her age and health conditions.”

“It is history judging her and this is no ordinary case that we just let pass without a whimper,” he added.

Villarin also recalled how Mrs. Marcos was “having the best of all worlds partying with gusto, rubbing elbows with the high and mighty, and now running as governor that is a 24/7 job and would likely result to her immediate death.”

“So why allow her to bail and engage in such a strenuous work in politics? She should be jailed and let fate decide her future,” he pointed out.

The convicted widow of late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos was seen attending her daughter Imee’s birthday party on the night of November 9.

This was the same day the anti-graft court handed down its guilty verdict against Mrs. Marcos for violating Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. The Sandiganbayan ruled on seven cases concerning Swiss accounts where around $200 million were channeled by Mrs. Marcos while holding various positions in government during her husband’s reign.

Marcos, who has been known to own 3,000 pairs of luxurious shoes, was sentenced to imprisonment of six years up to 11 years for each count of graft.

READ: Imelda Marcos guilty of graft, ordered arrested | Imelda Marcos to appeal graft conviction

But in a motion for leave to avail of post-conviction remedies filed Monday, her camp justified her absence last November 9 claiming she was “indisposed” and “suffering from multiple organ infirmities.”

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