Marcos' millions destined for rights abuse victims, Philippine

Marcos' millions destined for rights abuse victims, Philippine president says

Associated Press Manila

The Philippine president said on Friday a portion of the US$683 million amassed by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos will be used to compensate victims of human rights abuses during his 20- year rule.

The Supreme Court ordered the funds to be immediately transferred from the Philippine National Bank - which held the money after it was claimed from Marcos' Swiss bank accounts - to the national treasury.

"The Supreme Court directive reinforces our pursuit of justice, no matter how long the time had passed by," President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said in a statement.

She did not say how much of the US$683 million rights abuse victims would receive, but said she will continue to work with Congress to ensure those who suffered under Marcos' dictatorship "are compensated under fair and equitable terms."

Law requires that all assets earned by Marcos illegitimately be spent on land reform. But Arroyo said she wants part of the money to compensate 9,539 Filipinos who won a class action lawsuit for human rights violations against the Marcos estate in Hawaii.

Arroyo has said previously that US$200 million could be earmarked for the victims. The final figure will be decided by Congress, which will have to amend the land reform law.

The Supreme Court rejected two appeals by the Marcos family to block the transfer of funds from the Philippine National Bank to the government.

Arroyo said the agrarian reforms department was instructed to come up with programs and projects to use the money to uplift rural communities.

Marcos was ousted in a 1986 "people power" revolt. He fled to Honolulu where he died three years later. He never admitted any wrongdoing.

In its original decision last July, the Supreme Court ordered the Marcos family to forfeit money held in Swiss bank accounts, if they "failed to justify the lawful nature of ... acquisition."

The Supreme Court ruled Marcos and his wife, Imelda, legally earned only $304,372 during his two decade reign.