Anti-graft court orders turnover of $42-M Marcos account

Former President Ferdinand Marcos. Wikipedia Photo

MANILA – The anti-graft court has recently ordered the turnover of assets worth US$42 million from the account of the late president Ferdinand Marcos.

The amount represents the assets of the former president deposited with Merrill Lynch Securities in New York in 1972 in the name of Arelma Foundation.

In an order issued last Aug. 18, the Sandiganbayan’s Special Division released a directive asking the Philippine National Bank to transfer the money from the so-called Arelma account to the Bureau of Treasury.

The order was released following the Supreme Court’s (SC’s) ruling denying with finality the motion filed by the Marcos’ wife Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos.

Since the initiation of several forfeiture cases by the Presidential Commission on Good Governance, a total of $660 million was already recovered from five Marcos Swiss foundations in 2003.