Political analyst Ferdie Pasion, chairman of Nat-Fil ( Nationalist Filipinos Against Foreign Intervention) said that Former First Lady and now Congresswoman, Imelda Marcos is a victim of the Dilawan’s media propaganda. Her conviction is widely announced even if it is not executory yet. He has two major questions that made his analysis logical. Were the amounts of money transferred to Swiss accounts public funds? Was Madame Marcos’ name included in the registrations of the said foundations? The 7 counts of graft cases that she found guilty of by Sandiganbayan are mere legal proceedings. Rep. Marcos is entitled to due process like everyone else. For one, she cannot steal her own wealth. In fact, it’s the Dilawans who have heavier cases of corruption, he added.
Youtube Video by Talk News TV
[VIDEO]: Analyzing the Imelda Marcos Case -with Ferdie Pasion.
Due Process of Law
Rep. Imelda Marcos (Ilocos Norte) is allowed to avail herself of legal remedies as per the due process of law. However, the Dilawan media already made conclusions that the Marcoses have stolen wealth. In reality, “any party aggrieved by a ruling of a court can seek remedies from the court itself (i.e. motion for reconsideration) or from a higher court (appeal or certiorari).” Most news only highlights the ruling that is not yet final.
Bill of Rights
ARTICLE III, Section 1 states that: No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws. This is applicable to all citizens of the country including Rep. Marcos. The Dilawans have no reason to celebrate. The amounts transferred are too large for the country’s coffer. How can it be stolen when the Philippines never had it?
Corruption Cases of the Dilawans
Pasion said that there are many more graft and corruption cases committed by the Dilawans that just went quiet. Take the case of Former president Benigno Aquino III. He may not leave the country amid a string of criminal charges he is facing over the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra revealed that the lookout bulletin order (LBO) issued against Aquino, former health secretary Janette Garin and former budget secretary Florencio Abad Jr. stays as the DOJ has yet to resolve the charges of multiple homicide and physical injuries through negligence under the Revised Penal Code, malversation of public funds and violations of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and RA 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act) filed against them by Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. last February. This is only one of the many offenses committed against the public.
Not Yet Executory
The anti-graft court previously ordered the arrest of Ilocos Norte Representative Marcos. However, she got her temporary freedom at Php 150,000 bail while she faces the charges against her. She can still run for governor in the mid-term elections until the Sandiganbayan’s decision becomes final and executory but this is unlikely because the former first lady’s documentary evidence on the transactions is intact.
Imelda Marcos’ Wealth
The Sandiganbayan once convicted the former First Lady of a graft case in 1993, but the Supreme Court overturned the anti-graft court’s decision in 2003. It saved her from a 12-year prison sentence. This shows that it is impossible to legally convict a person as a thief when she can prove that the wealth in possession is their own. Therefore, the highly publicized conviction is nothing but a media propaganda by the Dilawans.
