Swiss move to unfreeze Marcos aides' accounts

The move by authorities in Switzerland to unblock $17 million in previously frozen deposits of former associates of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos did not come as a surprise to Manila, a government official said yesterday.

Ruben Carranza Jr., commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), said in Manila that the Swiss Bank Union Bancair Privee (UBP) had claimed that it really had 'no control over the funds', which were contained in separate accounts named to foundations headed by Marcos associates Geronimo Velasco, Alfredo de Borja and Carmencita Clavecilla.

"The Court of Appeals of Zurich had issued a freeze order in April, which was never lifted. But there is the question whether the freeze has any effect (particularly) if the money is not there anymore," said a lawyer in Manila who requested anonymity.

Dieter Jann, a Swiss lawyer who was hired by the PCGG to represent its claim to the Marcos ill-gotten wealth stashed in several Swiss bank accounts, justified Switzerland's move to unblock the accounts.

"There was no legal basis on which to continue blocking the account," he said.

On Wednesday, Swiss authorities ordered UBP to unblock the accounts owned by Velasco, an energy minister during the Marcos regime, De Borja, the dictator's nephew, and Clavecilla, the strongman's secretary.

The government in Switzerland earlier ordered the freezing of the accounts on suspicion that it contained ill-gotten gains during the Marcos dictatorship that ended in February 1986 with his overthrow by an uprising.