MANILA - The August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM) has refuted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s claim that his family has no ill-gotten wealth.
In a statement on Saturday, the group called Marcos a "purveyor" of false information.
“We will not just let this pass without disputing this new claim of his. Which is not really surprising, considering that the Marcos brand has always been known to be associated with lies and propaganda,” ATOM said.
“Our country has lived through so many lies already from your family, which has dragged our land into its current sorry state, since a lot of our people continue to fall for it,” it stated.
The group cited a 2018 Sandiganbayan decision, in which it convicted the president’s mother, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, of seven counts of graft over the illegal funneling of $200 million to Swiss foundations during the dictatorship of her husband, Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
The former First Lady was sentenced for six up to 11 years of imprisonment for each count of graft. To date, she remains out of jail.
“Many victims of Martial Law rejoiced with this news; she was, after all, the second half of the Conjugal Dictatorship that ruled our country with an iron fist for almost two decades,” ATOM said.
“Unfortunately, until now, we have not heard what happened in that case. This shows how powerful the Marcoses and the Romualdezes have been ever since. No one from the dictatorship ever spent a day in jail after 1986,” it added.
Marcos earlier said that he has not been updated on the non-payment of his family’s estate taxes amounting to billions as he is occupied with his mandate as the chief executive.
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He said the assets should not be called “ill gotten” as their victory in civil cases prove that the wealth was not illegally acquired.
In June this year, the Sandiganbayan dismissed the remaining asset claims in the forfeiture case in relation to the Marcos family’s ill-gotten wealth.