In a big boost to the Republic’s claim to recover the Marcos ill-gotten wealth, the Sandiganbayan forfeited US$3,369,975.00 of the Marcos’ Arelma in favor of the Republic.

            The existence of the Arelma assets was discovered among the Malacanang documents in 1986 after the Edsa Revolution that ousted the Marcoses. Said documents included a letter dated 21 September 1972 by J. L. Sunier, Senior Vice President of SBC to Jose Y. Campos, with instructions to form Arelma, Inc. in Panama for the sole purpose of maintaining an account and portfolio in Meryll Lynch, New York. On 19 May 1983, Sunier estimated that the value of the assets amounted to US$3,369,975.00.

             On 17 December 1991, the Republic filed a Civil Forfeiture case before the Sandiganbayan pursuant to Republic Act No. 1379. The case included other Marcos assets and was docketed as Civil Case No. 141. Republic Act No. 1379 provides that wealth of a public official that is disproportionate to his legitimate income may be forfeited in favor of the Republic.

             On 19 July 2004, the Republic filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Re: Arelma on the strength of a Supreme Court ruling on 15 July 2003 that the legitimate income of the Marcoses from 1965-1984 amounted to only US$957,487.75. This was followed by numerous motions securing early resolutions of the court.

             In said motions, the Republic argued that the Supreme Court’s computation that Marcoses’ legitimate assets amounted only to less than a million US dollars  constitutes prima facie evidence that the Arelma assets of US$3 Million, among others, are disproportionate to their legitimate income of and therefore ill-gotten. The Sandiganbayan agreed with the Republic ruling that Arelma Inc. forms part of the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses citing the same 2003 ruling of the Supreme Court.

            The Republic is represented by the Office of the Solicitor General currently headed by Solicitor General Agnes VST Devanadera assisted by ASG John Emmanuel F. Madamba, State Solicitor Magnolia C. Velez, Solicitor Rebecca Khan, and Associate Solicitor Moses V. Florendo, who considers the case of paramount importance to the Republic’s recovery efforts in foreign litigations. (By: Associate Solicitor Moses V. Florendo)