FVR to Marcos family: Apologize, return ill-gotten wealth

FVR to Marcos family: Apologize, return ill-gotten wealth Former President Fidel V. Ramos said it is high time for the family of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. to apologize for the atrocities committed during Martial Law and to return to the government the remaining ill-gotten wealth that are still in their possession. In an interview with GMA reporter Sandra Aguinaldo, Ramos said a public apology from the Marcos family is necessary to lessen the pain and anger of the human rights violation victims, in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing the late strongman’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB). ““[Apology] addressed to all the descendants of the victims, whether or not because there is investigation but to show sincere desire to discard, reject and eliminate already all of the dictatorial tendencies and happenings during that [Martial Law] period,” Ramos said. Ramos said Marcos’ kin must also voluntarily return the wealth that their family illegally amassed during their patriarch’s dictatorship, instead of just awaiting the resolution of pending civil cases aimed to recover the same. “Pero baka may iba pa na kontrolado ng pamilya, e di yun ang maging subject ng panggagalingan ng philanthropic or humanitarian support. Pero dapat kusang loob na donation or compassionate contribution,” Ramos said. Ramos, was the chief of the Philippine Constabulary (now Philippine National Police) before he withdrew his support to Marcos and became a key figure in the EDSA People Power revolution that ended the dictatorial rule. Based on the estimate of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), the Marcos family allegedly amassed a total of around $5 billion to $10 billion worth of wealth during Martial Law. In its report in February of this year, the PCGG said that from 1986 to 2015, it has already recovered around P170 billion or $3.6 billion of the Marcos wealth. shared from