Philippine Star
December 29, 2006
By SANDY ARANETA
SINGAPORE'S High Court has denied the Philippine government's claim
to the $23-million Marcos funds in the city state, the lawyers for
human rights victims said Thursday Dec 28.
In a statement, lawyer Rod Domingo Jr. said at issue in the
Singapore case is over $23 million of money originally hidden by
former president Ferdinand Marcos in a Swiss bank before being
transferred to Singapore.
"Following nine months of briefing and several oral arguments,
Justice Kan Ting Chiu of the Singapore High Court entered a
judgment denying the (Philippine) Republic's major defense," he
said.
Martial law victims claim the money to partially satisfy their now
$4 billion judgment against Marcos, he added.
The Philippine National Bank claims it is custodian of the money
for the Republic, Domingo said.
Lead counsel Robert Swift said it is a significant victory on the
way to obtaining a final verdict for the entire $23 million of
Marcos funds.
"The Singapore Court upheld Singapore's sovereignty to decide
ownership to property located in Singapore," he said.
"The tragedy is that the Republic is so heartless that it opposes
every effort by Filipino human rights victims to recover on their
judgment.
"The Republic even opposes the US Court-ordered distribution of the
first payment of US$2000 to each victim from monies already
collected in the US on their behalf."
Domingo said that "the government's claims to the money in
Singapore are sinking fast."
"I think the Singapore Court is sending a signal to our government
that it wants this matter settled or there could be dire
consequences," he said.
Despite spending over $1 million in legal fees and the engagement
of Singapore's largest and most influential law firm, the
Philippines is losing the case, he added.
Domingo said the Presidential Commission on Good Government's
vaunted defense of sovereign immunity, as in the Arelma case, has
once again been debunked and shuttered.
"When will it ever stop working against the oppressed victims of
human rights abuses?" he asked.
Domingo said in a 27-page decision, Kan ruled that the arguments
made by PNB were arguments of the Philippine government, and not
those of PNB.
"The Republic has therefore, by its agent PNB, laid its claim
before this Court and has submitted to the jurisdiction of the
Court," Domingo quoted the decision of the Singapore High Court.
Kan also assessed costs, including legal fees, against the Republic
and PNB, he added.
The 9539 Filipino victims of martial law are part of a class action
litigated in the United States against Marcos for torture, killings
and forced disappearances, Domingo said.
The Philippine government has asserted that it was awarded the
money by the Philippine Supreme Court in July 2003.
The litigation began in 2003 when West LB, a Singapore Bank, was
confronted with competing claims for the money and deposited the
money to the Singapore High Court.
Early in the litigation, PNB argued the case should be heard in the
Philippines, but the Singapore High Court denied that request and
assessed costs in favor of human rights victims.
In early 2006 the Philippine government entered the case to try and
force its dismissal, arguing it was a claimant to the money but was
entitled to sovereign immunity and not subject to the jurisdiction
of the Singapore Court.
In 1995, a US jury awarded the human rights victims an amount
which, with interest, is now worth $4 billion.
The judgment was affirmed on appeal.
http://www.singapore-window.org//sw06/061229PS.HTM