PCGG under Marcos: Expanded or weakened mandate?

MANILA, Philippines – The Presidential Fee on Good Authorities (PCGG) ushered in a brand new period on Friday, July 1, not sure of its future beneath President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, whose household’s stolen wealth is the company’s important concern.

As of Friday, Marcos is but to call the brand new fee of the PCGG, created in 1986 by former president Corazon “Corazon” Aquino to get better billions of stolen wealth from the Marcoses and their cronies.

John Agbayani, chairperson of the PCGG not less than as of June 30 or the final day of his principal President Rodrigo Duterte, didn’t reply to Rappler’s query on whether or not they’re on a holdover capability. The primary Cupboard assembly, historically held instantly after inauguration, didn’t push by Thursday,

In line with Andres Bautista, former PCGG chairperson, the President – that means Marcos – will appoint members of the fee. Not like constitutional commissions whose members have mounted phrases and are detachable by way of impeachment, Bautista mentioned PCGG heads “serve on the pleasure of the president and could also be eliminated at anytime,” he informed Rappler.

Marcos mentioned in the course of the marketing campaign that he was wanting into increasing the powers of the PCGG in order that it goes after different officers with stolen wealth, too. That’s, nevertheless, a duplication of capabilities with the Workplace of the Ombudsman. PCGG was created completely as a part of the transition justice when the individuals energy revolution ousted the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, the president’s father, in 1986.

Rodriguez says Marcos will look into how he’ll strengthen the PCGG, which has an unique mandate to get better the Marcoses and their cronies’ stolen wealth. We tried to observe up the way it can increase when there’s already the Ombudsman, however Rodriguez walked away. | by way of @lianbuan pic.twitter.com/UEjuYsJPun

— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) Might 25, 2022

“The PCGG will probably be utilized by the Marcos household and I feel Marcos Jr has all however mentioned so to go after former Marcos cronies that the Marcos household considers to nonetheless be possessing or in command of property that they declare are theirs, this will probably be a battle for in poor health gotten wealth by the ill-gotters of that wealth,” Ruben Carranza mentioned over Rappler’s In The Public Sq. with John Nery.

Carranza, at the moment primarily based in New York and a senior skilled on the Worldwide Middle for Transitional Justice, was a commissioner on the PCGG and was in control of the litigation that resulted within the Supreme Court docket determination from 2003 that declared as stolen wealth $658 million price of the Marcos household’s property.

“The Marcoses are extra involved with the accountability for corruptioon that they nonetheless have over their accountability for human rights violations…[The PCGG will be run] not by those that wish to get better it and return to the individuals however those that wish to get better it and return it to themselves,” mentioned Carranza.

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Will or not it’s dissolved?

The PCGG had been prone to dissolution a number of occasions throughout presidencies, and the commonest try was to soak up the fee beneath one other company, notably a sub-agency of the Division of Justice (DOJ) just like the Workplace of the Solicitor Basic (OSG). Duterte’s solicitor normal Jose Calida tried this throughout his time period, however was unsuccessful.

Though PCGG doesn’t have a constitution, and its authorized existence will depend on an Govt Order – Cory’s EO 1 – Bautista mentioned “EO 1 is a rare EO as a result of it was promulgated by President Cory Aquino pursuant to the manager and legislative powers vested in her by the Freedom Structure.”

“So it has the pressure and impact of a statute and never merely an EO of the manager department of presidency,” mentioned Bautista.

If the Marcos authorities had been to attempt to abolish the PCGG, it must be by a regulation handed by Congress. “Nevertheless, from a sensible standpoint, its powers might be clipped or diminished in varied methods resembling putting it beneath one other company or giving it a restricted funds,” mentioned Bautista.

In an earlier interview with Rappler, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla mentioned it’s not very doubtless that PCGG will probably be abolished, not less than not quickly.

“I actually don’t know now however I don’t suppose we wish to  rock the boat proper now on that matter, as a result of it’s not  politically right, and there are pending incidents within the courts, however I don’t suppose it’s proper for us to do something drastic about that,” Remulla mentioned.

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PCGG over time

As of yearend 2020, the PCGG has recovered P174.2 billion from the stolen wealth of the Marcoses and their cronies. As of 2021, the PCGG nonetheless has P125.9 billion extra to get better beneath litigation.

It’s an workplace alongside EDSA of 133 workers, based on its 2020 report, the newest obtainable report.

In 2020 alone, the PCGG recovered P333 million in money recoveries and different revenue. The recoveries of the PCGG go these locations:

Bureau of Treasury (to go to agrarian reform, the coco levy fund, and compensation of human rights victims)Basic fund of the PCGGOSG as PCGG’s statutory counselOffice of the President

The Workplace the President, now beneath Marcos, will get proceeds from the compromise settlement of Meralco Basis and the PCGG. In line with the settlement, the dictator – by his brother-in-law and the president’s uncle Benjamin Romualdez – acquired utilizing “sinister methods and underhanded maneuvers” the Lopez shares of Meralco by the Meralco Basis.

The PCGG has been constantly criticized for its accounting of its recoveries and for 2021, the Fee on Audit (COA) flagged amongst others 122 items of artworks weren’t correctly recorded of their books. The PCGG mentioned among the items are nonetheless beneath litigation.

Marcos’s appointee for COA chairperson is Calida, a Marcos loyalist. – MR