Marcos 'owned 60pc of Tan's firms'

Former first lady Imelda Marcos admitted in court that her husband, late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, owned 60 per cent of most of the companies of Chinese businessman Lucio Tan.

Marcos provided the Presiden-tial Commission on Good Government – which is tasked to recover the alleged Marcos ill-gotten wealth – with supporting evidence to show that her husband owned most of Tan's Foremost Farms, Asia Brewery, and Fortune Tobacco, among others.

In a 24-page amended response to a corruption case against her, Marcos said Tan "benefited very much from the Marcos decrees".

She gave details of an elaborate 60:40 wealth sharing scheme between Tan and her husband.

The former first lady admitted that Tan was a front guy, a dummy for the Marcos family.

Tan's Shareholdings Inc and his other firms were sequestered by the PCGG because of allegations that they were owned by Marcos and fronted by Tan when the former was president for 20 years (until 1986).

Marcos hinted at this in 1995, but she only stated without giving details that her husband had acquired an interest in Tan's firms and companies.

"This is absolutely beneficial to the government," said PCGG Commissioner Victoria Avena, adding that the agency might consider Marcos a hostile witness in the case against her.

"It simplifies our case. It supports our case," PCGG Commissioner Ruben Carranza noted.

Tan had waited for the election of a friendly president who could influence several justices in granting him the right to fight for his ownership of the said firms.

Apart from Tan, former ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco did not negotiate with the government and did not reveal the properties he had fronted for Marcos. Sources said they supported presidential candidates who could be friendlier to them.

Some of the former business associates of Marcos forged an out of court deal with the government after the ouster of Marcos by a people-backed military mutiny in 1986.

Many of them gave up property which they identified as being owned by Marcos, in exchange for their freedom from lawsuit, the retention of their own companies, and the continuity of their business interests.

Meanwhile, PCGG commissioners said they were amused by Marcos' recent damage-suit against the government for $392.1 million (P20 billion).