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Singapore
court denies govt claim over Marcos money
Sandy
Araneta
The Philippine Star
29 Dec
06
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=60863
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.
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$2,000 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 9,539 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.
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