(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, Feb. 27, said there was still no proof the Marcos family had amassed ill-gotten wealth during then-President Ferdinand Marcos’ term as alleged.
“Until now, you have not proven anything except to sequester and sell. Hindi mo nga sigurado kung talagang kay Marcos ba ‘yan?” Duterte, a lawyer, said in a speech in Manila.
The Marcoses are accused of stealing $5 to $10 billion from government coffers, and of stashing them in offshore bank accounts, with cronies, and alleged dummy foundations.
In 1986, then-President Cory Aquino, who was propped up as Marcos’ successor in the so-called People Power revolution, created the Presidential Commission on Good Government supposedly to recover what some have alleged to be the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth.
So far, over 200 cases are still being pursued against the Marcoses.
Duterte made the comment as he defended his decision to have Marcos buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in the same speech before the general assembly of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines.
“Sino ang pwedeng ilibing sa Libingan ng mga Bayani? Ang sabi ng batas, sundalo o kaya presidente,” he said.
Marcos was buried at the Taguig cemetery in 2016.