Rights victims blame government for New York loss

Ferdinand Marcos was sued in the US federal court in Hawaii, where he fled, on behalf of some 10,000 victims of arrest, torture and execution. The plaintiffs obtained a nearly $2-billion judgment after he died and now seek related assets. (en.wikipedia.org photo)

Lawyers of the Marcos human rights victims are blaming the Aquino government for the dismissal by a New York court of their claim on a $35-million chunk of the ill-gotten assets of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Co-counsel Rod Domingo Jr. said it was “frustrating” that the government has blocked the recovery of the money stashed in a secret account in Merrill Lynch New York while it couldn’t itself get legal hold of the asset.

“The present government, as the past ones, had argued against the interest of the victims asserting the gobbledygook doctrine of sovereign immunity,” Domingo said in a joint statement with lawyer Robert Swift.

The New York court cited a competing claim by the Philippine government that had been upheld by the Philippine Supreme Court as a ground for the dismissal of the claim by the rights abuse victims.

It said that the New York state courts “should not intercede” in a case that remains within the jurisdiction of Philippine national sovereignty.

Swift accused the Aquino administration of “sharing” the Arroyo administration’s alleged “vindictiveness to the victims of Marcos’ cruelty.”

“It has never compensated the victims and spends millions of dollars on lawyers to prevent the victims from receiving compensation. Many of these victims are now old and in poor health. One is left to wonder whether this administration has a moral compass,” Swift said.