Marcos money 'to bridge' RP budget deficit

Marcos money 'to bridge' RP budget deficit

MANILA (AFP): President Joseph Estrada's government wants to use more than US$600 million of deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos' forfeited assets to bridge a growing budget deficit, top economic officials said Thursday.

Speaking in a telephone interview from Prague, where he is attending the International Monetary Fund-World Bank general assembly meeting, Finance Secretary Jose Pardo said the IMF was pressing Manila to stick to its targeted 62.5 billion-peso ($1.3 billion) budget deficit for this year.

Earlier this month, the government said the deficit had widened to 69.99 billion pesos in the eight months to August, well over the full-year target.

"We have some misgivings on the tightness of the numbers," but "they (the IMF) said we should try to live with it," Pardo said Thursday.

"We told them about the Marcos money," he added.

A special anti-graft court earlier this month awarded the $600 million to the Philippines government, upholding its contention that it was embezzled from state coffers during the 20-year Marcos rule.

The assets were tracked to secret Swiss bank accounts shortly after a popular revolt toppled the Marcos regime in 1986. They were later transferred to an escrow account in Manila.

"There is a request from the executive department to allow us to execute the decision" of the court, transferring the money to the government, Pardo said.

"We hope to have a breathing spell with that money," he said, adding that the government hoped to have measures to boost revenue in place by next year.

Central Bank of the Philippines governor Rafael Buenaventura said "the Marcos money might be a measure for a good graceful exit out of the (IMF) program" which expires in December.

The 1.4 billion-dollar loan program requires Manila to stick to previously agreed budget deficit ceilings among other conditions.

However the Marcos heirs are expected to appeal the anti-graft court's decision and a group of human rights victims of the Marcos regime are also trying to claim the money.

Pardo said the government was still expected to raise the required financing to meet the deficit target, "not to mention the possibility that we can also use the Marcos money."

In October, an IMF mission will visit the country to review the Philippines' performance in line with the IMF loan facility, set to expire in December.

They will also discuss the possibility of putting in place a two-year monitoring program after the loan facility expires, Buenaventura said.