Marcos wealth may now be worth US$100B

[Judi Lynn]

Marcos wealth may now be worth US$100B

MANILA (AFP) - State funds and other assets looted by the late Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies may now be worth 100 billion dollars but less than two billion dollars has been recovered, an official said Wednesday.
The total value was originally estimated to be up to 10 billion dollars and this sum "should be corrected at least by a multiple of 10 due to appreciation" of their value after two decades, said Nicasio Conti of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) which is tracking down the wealth.

As Manila this week marked the anniversary of Marcos's 1986 ousting, officials said eight billion dollars worth of assets has so far been firmly identified after a 20-year hunt. But only 1.63 billion dollars has been recovered.

They could not say how long it would take to recover the balance, most of which is the subject of lawsuits in Philippine courts.

Marcos died in exile in Hawaii in 1989, three years after a bloodless, military-backed popular revolt ended his 20-year rule marked in its latter stages by massive corruption and cronyism.
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http://www.brunet.bn/news/bb/thu/feb23w7.htm

http://theage.com.au/ffximage/2004/06/06/marcos,0.jpg

Mini biography: Born on 11 September 1917 in Sarrat in the llocos Norte Province at the northwestern tip of Luzon. Both his parents are teachers. After completing his schooling, Marcos enrols to study law at the University of the Philippines.

1939 - In April Marcos is arrested in connection with the 1933 murder of a political rival of his father and has to complete his law degree while in custody. He stands trial in September and is and found guilty.

1940 - Marcos appeals his conviction for murder, representing himself before the Philippine Supreme Court. The appeal is upheld and the conviction overturned. Marcos then becomes a trial lawyer in Manilla.

1941-45 - During the Second World War, Marcos serves as an officer in the Philippine armed forces. After the war he claims to have led a guerrilla unit, the Maharlikas, against the Japanese. It is later revealed that he played little or no part in anti-Japanese activities during the war.

1946 - Marcos returns to Manila to resume his law practice, becoming an assistant to the Philippines president in 1947.

1949 - Standing as a Liberal Party candidate, Marcos is elected as a representative for his home province to the Philippine Parliament, becoming the youngest member ever to join the House. He successfully stands for reelection in 1953. It is reported that he uses his political influence for personal enrichment and quickly becomes a multimillionaire.

1954 - Marcos marries Imelda Romualdez on 1 May.

1957 - He is again reelected to the House of Representatives. In 1959 he shifts from the lower house to the Senate, topping the election and becoming the opposition leader in parliament.

1961 - Marcos drops plans to stand as the Liberal Party candidate for the presidency on the understanding that his nomination will be supported in 1965. In the meantime he is made head of the Liberal Party. In 1963 he is elected Senate president.

1964 - When the Liberals refuse to honour the 1961 agreement, Marcos switches his allegiance to the Nationalista Party. In November he is nominated as the party's candidate for the presidential election of the following year.

1965 - Marcos is elected president in November, promising improved living conditions for average Filipinos and land reform. While the first is achieved through an ambitious program of public works, the latter is never seriously tackled. He helps found the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), established in 1967.

1969 - Marcos wins a second four-year term as president. He is the first president to be reelected in the short history of the Philippine democracy. However, growth slows and quality of life begins to deteriorate. Violence and crime begin to become everyday occurrences. The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) starts to make inroads in the provinces, with its military wing, the New People's Army (NPA) spreading across the archipelago.

On the southern island of Mindanao, Muslim secessionists organise under the banner of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). In August Marcos launches major military campaigns against the NPA and MNLF.

1970 - Social unrest continues to build. Student demonstrators attempt to storm the Malacañang Palace, the presidential mansion, on 30 January. Manila and other large cities are rocked by random bombings. Marcos blames leftists and suspends habeas corpus in August 1971, a prelude to martial law.

1971 - At a constitutional convention opposition delegates introduce a provision to prevent Marcos from remaining as head of state or government once his second term as president has expired. Marcos succeeds in having the ban overturned the following year.

1972 Using the excuse of an alleged assassination attempt against Defence Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, Marcos declares martial law on 21 September, promising to eliminate poverty and injustice and create a "new society". It is later revealed that the assassination attempt had been staged by the military.

Opposition figures (including Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino), journalists, student and labour activists and criminals are arrested and detained at military compounds run by the army and the police. Newspapers are closed and the mass media tightly controlled. Demonstrations, strikes and boycotts are outlawed. Marcos assumes absolute legislative power. The constitution, which permits presidents only two terms in office, is suspended.

1973 - A new constitution allowing Marcos to stay in office indefinitely and to rule by decree is introduced. The result is confirmed by a fraudulent referendum enabling him to continue as president until the end of martial law and to arbitrarily appoint all government officials, including members of the judiciary. Imelda Marcos is made governor of Manila and minister of human settlements and ecology.
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http://www.moreorless.au.com/killers/marcos.html