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US lawyer to hold discussions on compensation for martial law victims
Robert Swift, the lead American lawyer for the 9,539 victims of martial law, will be in the country this week to discuss the possibility of working out a compromise agreement with the government over late dictator Ferdinand Marcos' $100 million (Dh365 million) assets
- By Estrella TorresCorrespondent
- Published: 00:27 May 5, 2008
Manila: Robert Swift, the lead American lawyer for the 9,539 victims of martial law, will be in the country this week to discuss the possibility of working out a compromise agreement with the government over late dictator Ferdinand Marcos' $100 million (Dh365 million) assets that have been under litigation in courts in the United States and Singapore for the past ten years.
The Philippine government and the martial law claimants who won a landmark $2.35 billion class suit against the Marcos estate in Honolulu District Court in 1995 have been tied in a legal tug of war for the former dictator's assets stashed in various banks abroad.
Under crony's name
These include the $35 million deposit kept under a Panamanian firm Arelma Inc in Merrill Lynch, New York; another case involves $22 million kept in a Singapore branch of German bank West LB and, lastly, acres of land in Texas and Colorado under former crony Jose Campos' name.
Former Congresswoman Etta Rosales, also a claimant, said the possibility of entering into a compromise with the government will be discussed during meetings with Swift who will be in the Philippines from today.
"It's high time that we give something to the claimants because they are now either sick or have died already and their families need financial assistance," said Rosales in a telephone interview with Gulf News.
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