RP govt seeks acquittal for Imelda Marcos<\/p>\n
MANILA (Reuters): The Philippine government, in a dramatic
\nturnaround, said yesterday it had urged the Supreme Court to set
\naside a 12-year jail term against former first lady Imelda Marcos
\nand acquit her of corruption charges.<\/p>\n
Marcos's opponents immediately denounced the government
\naction, calling it a step towards the political rehabilitation of
\na family whose rule became synonymous with plunder and mischief.<\/p>\n
Solicitor General Romeo de la Cruz, in a paper filed with the
\nSupreme Court on Tuesday, recommended the jail term against the
\nwidow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos be overturned.<\/p>\n
The state's chief lawyer told Reuters an anti-graft court
\nruling in 1993 convicting Imelda Marcos of graft was a mistake
\nbut it was up to the Supreme Court to decide.<\/p>\n
\"The Office of the Solicitor General recommends that the
\ndecision (convicting Marcos) be reconsidered and judgment be
\nrendered acquitting petitioner of the charge,\" de la Cruz said in
\nhis 34-page recommendation.<\/p>\n
The anti-graft court had found Marcos guilty of violating the
\nanti-graft and corrupt practices law for leasing state property
\nto a private foundation she headed under terms allegedly grossly
\nunfair to the government.<\/p>\n
She struck the deal in 1984, two years before the Marcoses
\nwere ousted in a popular revolt that forced them to flee in exile
\nto Hawaii, where the former president died three years later.
\nThe Supreme Court in January upheld the 1993 ruling, prompting
\nMarcos to appeal.<\/p>\n
The state in effect has now backed that appeal.<\/p>\n
De la Cruz said the state recommendation would not affect the
\noutcome of scores of other graft cases which prosecutors had
\nfiled against Marcos for allegedly helping her husband plunder
\nthe economy.<\/p>\n
Outgoing President Fidel Ramos, who steps down on June 30
\nafter a six-year term and who has adopted a policy of
\nreconciliation with the Marcoses, angrily refused comment when
\nasked at his weekly news conference about the recommendation.<\/p>\n
\"I have no statement. I have no comment on that,\" Ramos said,
\ncutting off a reporter. \"I have not seen it and I think this
\nrequires my personal study. I have no comment.\"<\/p>\n
De la Cruz conceded the recommendation was a turn-around in
\nthe government stand.<\/p>\n
The state action was the latest stroke of good fortune for the
\nMarcos family.<\/p>\n
In last month's national election, a Marcos daughter won a
\nseat in Congress while a son was elected provincial governor.<\/p>\n
A long-time Marcos ally, former movie actor Joseph Estrada,
\nwas elected the country's president. Estrada immediately promised
\nhe would allow Ferdinand Marcos's chemically preserved corpse to
\nbe buried at Manila's Heroes Cemetery.<\/p>\n
There was no immediate comment from Imelda Marcos. An aide
\nsaid she had gone to the cemetery to look for an appropriate
\nburial site for her husband.<\/p>\n
\"There's a big question mark now about meting justice on the
\nMarcoses,\" said leftist leader Satur Ocampo, one of thousands of
\ndissidents tortured by the military during the Marcos era.<\/p>\n
\"It looks like the political direction is re-accommodating the
\nMarcoses back to power and setting aside the grievances against
\nthem for plundering the economy and violating human rights,\"
\nOcampo added.<\/p>\n
Former solicitor general Frank Chavez, who prepared the graft
\ncase against Imelda Marcos, was appalled by the state
\nrecommendation and said he hoped the Supreme Court would stick to
\nits ruling upholding her conviction.<\/p>\n
\"It seems to me that they are inching their way back (to
\npower),\" Chavez told Reuters. \"The only problem in this country
\nis you are presumed guilty until you are proven influential.<\/p>\n
\"If she is eventually acquitted, then we lose everything. We
\nlose our right to attain vindication, we lose our right to obtain
\njustice and we lose the right to be ashamed of ourselves.\"<\/p>",
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