Gov’t will take Marcos homes instead

Government lawyers have asked the Sandiganbayan to seize three Metro Manila properties belonging to former first lady Imelda Marcos in lieu of P10 million representing ill-gotten funds that she refuses to pay.

The antigraft court ruled in September last year that Marcos, as legal representative of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, should pay P10 million plus P1.95 million in moral, exemplary and nominal damages, including attorney’s fees, to cover funds her husband had ordered withdrawn from the National Food Authority (NFA).

The money, representing the NFA’s rebate granted by the Philippine National Lines (PNL), was illegally transferred to private coffers, the court found. The PNL was created in 1976 to establish a reliable shipping service. It was an attached agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

Despite the court ruling, and the subsequent issuance of a writ of execution, Marcos, now a representative of Ilocos Norte, has not settled her liability with the government.

Court records showed that Marcos moved out of her home days after sheriffs came by to serve the writ of execution.

In a motion filed in the Sandiganbayan, the Presidential Commission on Good Government and the Office of the Solicitor General noted that the sheriffs had served the writ of execution on Marcos, but it nevertheless remained unsatisfied.

Thus, they said the court should just seize Marcos’ properties. The government lawyers sought the issuance of an alias writ of execution against three properties that were unencumbered.

These were a 1,584-square-meter lot on Don Mariano Marcos Street, an 864-sqm lot on P. Guevarra corner Maude Streets and a 932-sqm lot on Claro M. Recto Street, all in San Juan City.

The sheriff’s report said Marcos had moved out of her address at One McKinley Place in Taguig City after sheriffs tried to deliver the demand letter from the court in April.

The sheriffs were identified as Albert de la Cruz, Romulo Barrozo and Honofre Tejada Jr.