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AFTER
several calls for an audit, the Commission on Audit (COA)
has responded and now wants the Presidential Commission
on Good Government (PCGG) to account for the $22 million
of Marcos Swiss deposits which were not turned over to
the National Treasury.
COA
estimated that the amount, part of the $658,175,373.60
deposits that were transferred to an escrow account in
Manila in the 1990s while Swiss authorities awaited
action from the Philippine government on terms it had
imposed for freeing the funds, has since grown to $34.14
million.
On July
15, 2003, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled to forfeit
the fund in favor of the government. This ruling was
followed by a Sandiganbayan order issued in January 2004
directing the transfer of the funds to the Philippine
government.
However,
a COA audit showed that of the $658, 175,373.60 escrow
deposit, only $624,044,905.55 was actually transferred
by PNB to the Bureau of Treasury on February 4, 2004.
“The
audit revealed that…a balance of $34,130,468.05 or
P1,413,376,812.42($1.00=P41.411 BSP Rate January 2,
2008) remained unaccounted/unrecorded in the books,”
auditors noted.
Despite
the “missing” $34.14 million, the PCGG issued a Deed of
Release with Quitclaim to the bank.
The deed
served “to acknowledge, confirm and affirm PNB’s full
compliance” with the writ of execution issued by the
Sandiganbayan First Division, the COA said.
The PCGG
said that “insofar as the Swiss deposit with PNB is
concerned,” it had “no record on file”; hence, it
referred the COA recommendation to the PNB for
appropriate action.
But
auditors said their verbal inquiry with officers at
PNB’s Trust Department revealed that the bank has been
regularly submitting monthly financial reports to PCGG.
Earlier,
former Akbayan Rep. Loreta Ann Rosales urged the COA to
look into the $22-million litigation fund due to
allegations that some PCGG officials and employees were
using the money for junkets abroad while purportedly
attending litigation of cases involving ill-gotten
wealth of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and his
cronies.
“I think
the Commission on Audit should conduct an audit of this
(litigation fund) since it is a public fund. Every
citizen in this country, especially the 10,000 human
rights victims of the Marcos regime have the right to
know how the PCGG spends the money,” Rosales said.
Rosales,
who chairs Claimants 1081 (a group of martial-law
victims), issued the call for an audit of the fund
because of allegations that even PCGG employees not
involved in litigation join the PCGG entourage for
overseas court hearings.
Recently, PCGG insiders claimed PCGG chairman Camilo
Sabio led an entourage to Singapore to attend a series
of court hearings in the case of West Landesbank versus
PNB.
Aside
from being chairman, Sabio is also in charge of all
foreign litigation involving ill-gotten wealth cases
being heard in different courts abroad.
This
reporter tried to get Sabio’s side several times but to
no avail.
Documents obtained by the BusinessMirror showed the
commission en banc signed a resolution “authorizing” the
PNB to release certain amounts as requested by PCGG for
use for litigation as well as administrative expenses. |
