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By Associated press
MANILA, Philippines – A Philippine court has recognized former first lady Imelda Marcos guilty of bribery and ordered her arrest on Friday as part of a rare conviction among many corruption cases. She plans to appeal this decision to avoid prison and lose her seat in Congress.
The Sandiganbayan Special Anti-Corruption Court sentenced Marcos, 89, to serve six to eleven years in prison for each of the seven counts of violating an anti-corruption law when she illegally paid out $ 200 million dollars to Swiss foundations in the 1970s as Metro Governor of Manila.
Neither Marcos nor his representatives attended Friday's hearing.
Marcos said in a statement that the decision was being reviewed by one of his lawyers who informed the Marcos family of his intention to appeal the decision. Anti-Marcos activists and human rights victims have welcomed this long-awaited condemnation.
The court prevented Marcos from holding public office, but she can remain a member of the powerful House of Representatives while appealing the decision. Her term in Congress will be completed next year, but she has signed up to replace her daughter as governor of northern Ilocos Norte province.
"I was jumping for joy and disbelief," said former president of the Human Rights Commission, Loretta Ann Rosales, who was among the many activists locked up after the husband's death. Imelda, former president Ferdinand Marcos, declared martial law in the Philippines in 1972.
Rosales said the decision was a major setback for the Marcos family's efforts to revise history by denying many atrocities committed under dictatorship, and urged Filipinos to fight against all threats against democracy and civil liberties.
Former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who was also imprisoned during the Marcos dictatorship, said it would be up to voters to vote in the May 13 local elections next year, where Marcos is a candidate, if they want "someone who has a bad reputation that represents them, that's your call."
The husband of Imelda Marcos was ousted in 1986 as a result of a revolt of "popular power" backed by the army. He died in Hawaii in 1989, but his widow and children have returned to the Philippines. Most were elected to public positions with an impressive political return.
Government prosecutor Ryan Quilala told reporters that Marcos and her husband opened and managed Swiss foundations in violation of the Philippine Constitution, using pseudonyms to hide stolen funds. The Marcoses have been accused of looting government coffers in a context of extreme poverty. They have denied any wrongdoing and have successfully fought many other cases of corruption.
Imelda Marcos was acquitted Friday in three other cases, which were filed in 1991 and required almost three decades of trials by several judges and prosecutors. She was previously found guilty of a corruption case in 1993, but the Supreme Court later released him from any wrongdoing.
President Rodrigo Duterte, an ally of the Marcos, said last year that the Marcos family had shown themselves willing to surrender an amount of money still undetermined as well as "some gold bullion". to reduce budget deficits. He said the family still denies that assets have been stolen, as political opponents claim.
Ferdinand Marcos had subjected the Philippines to martial rule a year before the expiry of his term. He padlocked Congress, ordered the arrest of political rivals and leftist activists and ruled by decree. It is estimated that his family would have amassed about $ 5 billion to $ 10 billion while he was in power.
A Hawaiian court has declared Marcos responsible for human rights violations and allocated $ 2 billion to his estate to compensate more than 9,000 Filipinos who have filed lawsuits against him for torture, incarceration, extrajudicial executions and disappearances.
Duterte acknowledged that Imee Marcos, the couple's daughter and governor of the province, had supported his candidacy for the presidency.
