Sandiganbayan dismisses remaining claims in Marcos forfeiture case
By Jel Santos
(PHOTO COURTESY: MARCOS PRESIDENTIAL CENTER)
The Sandiganbayan’s Special Division has dismissed the remaining claims in a long-running forfeiture case against the late former president Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. and former first lady Imelda R. Marcos after the government informed the anti-graft court that it would no longer present evidence on the properties still covered by the case.
In a seven-page resolution promulgated on June 2, the anti-graft court terminated Civil Case No. 0141 insofar as it concerned properties not previously covered by partial summary judgments.
The case was filed by the Republic of the Philippines, represented by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), seeking the forfeiture of alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses.
The Special Division noted that on May 12, 2026, the Republic filed a manifestation informing the court that it would no longer present evidence regarding the remaining properties included in the petition.
“In view of petitioner’s manifestation and the absence of evidence concerning the remaining properties, the proceedings in this case, insofar as they relate to properties not covered by the four partial summary judgments, are now terminated,” the resolution stated.
“ACCORDINGLY, Civil Case No. 0141 is DISMISSED, insofar as it concerns the remaining properties not subject of the previous partial summary judgments,” it added.
The resolution noted that the Republic had previously secured four partial summary judgments covering various assets attributed to the Marcoses.
Among these were US$658 million in Swiss deposits; funds, properties, shares, and interests relating to the Arelma Accounts valued at US$3,369,975 as of 1983; the Malacañang Jewelry Collection, valued between US$110,055 and US$153,089 as of 1991; and the proceeds from the sale of paintings and artworks worth US$17 million.
Civil Case No. 0141 was originally filed in 1991 by the Republic through the PCGG to recover alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family that was not included in earlier forfeiture cases pending before the Sandiganbayan.
The petition alleged that the properties were unlawfully acquired and were manifestly disproportionate to the lawful income of the respondents during their tenure in government service.
The resolution was penned by Associate Justice Bayani H. Jacinto, with Associate Justices Maryann E. Corpus-Mañalac and Juliet M. Manalo-San Gaspar concurring.