https://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Imelda-Marcos-convicted-of-graft-court-orders-13376857.php
BREAKING NEWS
Imelda Marcos convicted of graft, court orders her arrest
Jim Gomez, Associated Press
Updated 3:41 am PST, Friday, November 9, 2018
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine court found former first lady Imelda Marcos guilty of graft and ordered her arrest Friday in a rare conviction among many corruption cases that she plans to appeal to avoid jail and losing her seat in Congress.
The special anti-graft Sandiganbayan court sentenced Marcos, 89, to serve 6 to 11 years in prison for each of the seven counts of violating an anti-corruption law when she illegally funneled about $200 million to Swiss foundations in the 1970s as Metropolitan Manila governor.
Neither Marcos nor anyone representing her attended Friday's court hearing.
Marcos said in a statement that the decision was being studied by one of her lawyers who notified the Marcos family that he intends to appeal the decision. Anti-Marcos activists and human rights victims welcomed the conviction as long overdue.
The court disqualified Marcos from holding public office, but she can remain a member of the powerful House of Representatives while appealing the decision. Her congressional term will end next year but she has registered to run to replace her daughter as governor of northern Ilocos Norte province.
"I was jumping up and down in joy in disbelief," said former Commission on Human Rights chairwoman Loretta Ann Rosales, who was among many activists locked up after Imelda's husband, former President Ferdinand Marcos, declared martial law in the Philippines in 1972.
Rosales said the decision was a huge setback to efforts by the Marcos family to revise history by denying many of the atrocities under the dictatorship, and urged Filipinos to fight all threats against democracy and civil liberties.
Former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who was also jailed during the Marcos dictatorship, said it was up to voters in next year's May 13 local elections, where Marcos is a candidate, if they want "somebody who has a bad name representing them, that's your call."
Imelda Marcos' husband was ousted by an army-backed "people power" revolt in 1986. He died in self-exile in Hawaii in 1989 but his widow and children returned to the Philippines. Most have been elected to public offices in an impressive political comeback.
Government prosecutor Ryan Quilala told reporters that Marcos and her husband opened and managed Swiss foundations in violation of the Philippine Constitution, using aliases in a bid to hide stolen funds. The Marcoses have been accused of plundering the government's coffers amid crushing poverty. They have denied any wrongdoing and have successfully fought many other corruption cases.
Imelda Marcos was acquitted Friday in three other cases, which were filed in 1991 and took nearly three decades of trial by several judges and prosecutors. She was once convicted of a graft case in 1993, but the Supreme Court later cleared her of any wrongdoing.
President Rodrigo Duterte, an ally of the Marcoses, said last year the Marcos family had indicated a willingness to return a still-unspecified amount of money and "a few gold bars" to help ease budget deficits. He indicated the family still denied that the assets had been stolen as alleged by political opponents.
Ferdinand Marcos had placed the Philippines under martial rule a year before his term was to expire. He padlocked Congress, ordered the arrest of political rivals and left-wing activists and ruled by decree. His family is said to have amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power.
A Hawaii court found Marcos liable for human rights violations and awarded $2 billion from his estate to compensate more than 9,000 Filipinos who filed a lawsuit against him for torture, incarceration, extrajudicial killings and disappearances.
Duterte has acknowledged that Imee Marcos, the couple's daughter and a provincial governor, backed his presidential candidacy.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46148217
Imelda Marcos faces Philippines arrest after guilty verdict
Image copyright TED ALJIBE
A court in the Philippines has sentenced former first lady Imelda Marcos to prison for corruption.
Imelda Marcos, 89, was the wife of late president Ferdinand Marcos, and famous for owning 1,000 pairs of shoes.
The charges relate to alleged illicit financial dealings with Swiss-based NGOs while serving in her husband's government in the 1970s and 80s.
The ruling permanently barred Marcos, who is currently a member of parliament, from holding public office.
The corruption court found Marcos guilty of seven counts of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. She was sentenced to between six and 11 years in prison for each count.
Marcos was not present at the court but a warrant has now been issued for her arrest.
The case has been pending with the anti-graft court for 27 years.
Marcos, who is currently a member of the House of Representatives, is running for a governor post in next year's general election.
Prosecutor Ryan Quilala told local media she would still be able to run in elections until she has exhausted the appeals process. She is allowed to apply for bail.
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001302084/imelda-marcos-jailed-for-42-years
Former Philippines First Lady jailed for 42 years
By AFP | Published Fri, November 9th 2018 at 09:49, Updated November 9th 2018 at 10:12 GMT +3
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Imelda Marcos, the 89-year-old former first lady of the Philippines, was sentenced to 42 years though she is expected to appeal the decision. (Photo: Courtesy)
Former Philiphines First Lady Marcos has ben sentenced to a minimum of 42 years to prison for corruption.
However, 89-year-old Marcos famous for owning 5,000 pair opf shoe, can appeal the ruling and post bail, which would allow her to remain free while the case grinds through the country’s notoriously slow justice system.
The verdict from the anti-graft Sandiganbayan court orders her to serve a minimum of six years behind bars over charges the Marcoses funnelled roughly $200 million through Swiss foundations decades ago.
Her husband Ferdinand Marcos, who along with cronies was accused of pilfering $10 billion from the Philippines, fled with his family to the US after a people’s uprising ended his 20-year rule in 1986.
Marcos died in 1989 while still in exile. But his heirs later returned to Manila and have since staged a political comeback. Imelda Marcos is currently a congresswoman.
As a government official in the Marcos administration, Imelda was barred by law from having any financial interest from the Swiss foundations, said the ruling.
“The couple opened all those accounts in Switzerland, and they used pseudonyms to hide their ownership. The president chose William Saunders and Imelda Marcos used Jane Ryan,” special prosecutor Ryan Quilala told reporters.
Stay informed while on the go by subscribing to the Standard Group SMS service. Text the word 'NEWS' to 22840.
Her lawyers could not be reached, while a press aide told AFP there was no immediate comment.
Court officials said Marcos would be able to avoid incarceration by posting an as yet undetermined bail and has the right to appeal her conviction to the nation’s highest legal authority, the Supreme Court.
The body has previously undone a case against Imelda, overturning a 24 year jail sentence in 1993 on graft charges. She ran for congress and won while her appeal was underway.
The family’s notoriety stems back to Ferdinand Marcos declaring martial law in 1972. That allowed him to shutter the legislature, muzzle the free press and jail or kill those who dared to oppose his dictatorship.
In the decades since Marcos’s ouster the effort to recover the pilfered money has been halting and uneven.
However, the Philippine Supreme Court in 2003 ordered $680 million in funds stashed by the Marcoses in Swiss banks handed to the government.
The funds had earlier been turned over by the Swiss judiciary after concluding that the funds were stolen from the Manila government.
The younger generation of Marcoses have led high-profile careers, despite the dark past associated with their name.
Imelda and Ferdinand’s daughter Imee Marcos, is the governor of the family’s northern stronghold of Ilocos Norte province and helped bankroll the 2016 election campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte, according to him.
Imelda’s son, also named Ferdinand, almost won the separate election for vice president that year.
He has put the count under protest and hopes to run for president after Duterte’s term ends in mid-2022.
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Imelda Marcos convicted of graft, court orders her arrest
Jim Gomez, Associated Press
Updated 3:41 am PST, Friday, November 9, 2018
- Image 1 of 5
In this photo provided by the Office of the Army Chief Public Affairs Headquarters Philippine Army, Imelda Marcos, the widow of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, cries as she receives the Philippine flag from ... more
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MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine court found former first lady Imelda Marcos guilty of graft and ordered her arrest Friday in a rare conviction among many corruption cases that she plans to appeal to avoid jail and losing her seat in Congress.
The special anti-graft Sandiganbayan court sentenced Marcos, 89, to serve 6 to 11 years in prison for each of the seven counts of violating an anti-corruption law when she illegally funneled about $200 million to Swiss foundations in the 1970s as Metropolitan Manila governor.
Neither Marcos nor anyone representing her attended Friday's court hearing.
Marcos said in a statement that the decision was being studied by one of her lawyers who notified the Marcos family that he intends to appeal the decision. Anti-Marcos activists and human rights victims welcomed the conviction as long overdue.
The court disqualified Marcos from holding public office, but she can remain a member of the powerful House of Representatives while appealing the decision. Her congressional term will end next year but she has registered to run to replace her daughter as governor of northern Ilocos Norte province.
"I was jumping up and down in joy in disbelief," said former Commission on Human Rights chairwoman Loretta Ann Rosales, who was among many activists locked up after Imelda's husband, former President Ferdinand Marcos, declared martial law in the Philippines in 1972.
Rosales said the decision was a huge setback to efforts by the Marcos family to revise history by denying many of the atrocities under the dictatorship, and urged Filipinos to fight all threats against democracy and civil liberties.
Former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who was also jailed during the Marcos dictatorship, said it was up to voters in next year's May 13 local elections, where Marcos is a candidate, if they want "somebody who has a bad name representing them, that's your call."
Imelda Marcos' husband was ousted by an army-backed "people power" revolt in 1986. He died in self-exile in Hawaii in 1989 but his widow and children returned to the Philippines. Most have been elected to public offices in an impressive political comeback.
Government prosecutor Ryan Quilala told reporters that Marcos and her husband opened and managed Swiss foundations in violation of the Philippine Constitution, using aliases in a bid to hide stolen funds. The Marcoses have been accused of plundering the government's coffers amid crushing poverty. They have denied any wrongdoing and have successfully fought many other corruption cases.
Imelda Marcos was acquitted Friday in three other cases, which were filed in 1991 and took nearly three decades of trial by several judges and prosecutors. She was once convicted of a graft case in 1993, but the Supreme Court later cleared her of any wrongdoing.
President Rodrigo Duterte, an ally of the Marcoses, said last year the Marcos family had indicated a willingness to return a still-unspecified amount of money and "a few gold bars" to help ease budget deficits. He indicated the family still denied that the assets had been stolen as alleged by political opponents.
Ferdinand Marcos had placed the Philippines under martial rule a year before his term was to expire. He padlocked Congress, ordered the arrest of political rivals and left-wing activists and ruled by decree. His family is said to have amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power.
A Hawaii court found Marcos liable for human rights violations and awarded $2 billion from his estate to compensate more than 9,000 Filipinos who filed a lawsuit against him for torture, incarceration, extrajudicial killings and disappearances.
Duterte has acknowledged that Imee Marcos, the couple's daughter and a provincial governor, backed his presidential candidacy.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46148217
Imelda Marcos faces Philippines arrest after guilty verdict
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Image copyright TED ALJIBE
A court in the Philippines has sentenced former first lady Imelda Marcos to prison for corruption.
Imelda Marcos, 89, was the wife of late president Ferdinand Marcos, and famous for owning 1,000 pairs of shoes.
The charges relate to alleged illicit financial dealings with Swiss-based NGOs while serving in her husband's government in the 1970s and 80s.
The ruling permanently barred Marcos, who is currently a member of parliament, from holding public office.
The corruption court found Marcos guilty of seven counts of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. She was sentenced to between six and 11 years in prison for each count.
Marcos was not present at the court but a warrant has now been issued for her arrest.
The case has been pending with the anti-graft court for 27 years.
Marcos, who is currently a member of the House of Representatives, is running for a governor post in next year's general election.
Prosecutor Ryan Quilala told local media she would still be able to run in elections until she has exhausted the appeals process. She is allowed to apply for bail.
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001302084/imelda-marcos-jailed-for-42-years
Former Philippines First Lady jailed for 42 years
By AFP | Published Fri, November 9th 2018 at 09:49, Updated November 9th 2018 at 10:12 GMT +3
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Former Philiphines First Lady Marcos has ben sentenced to a minimum of 42 years to prison for corruption.
However, 89-year-old Marcos famous for owning 5,000 pair opf shoe, can appeal the ruling and post bail, which would allow her to remain free while the case grinds through the country’s notoriously slow justice system.
The verdict from the anti-graft Sandiganbayan court orders her to serve a minimum of six years behind bars over charges the Marcoses funnelled roughly $200 million through Swiss foundations decades ago.
Her husband Ferdinand Marcos, who along with cronies was accused of pilfering $10 billion from the Philippines, fled with his family to the US after a people’s uprising ended his 20-year rule in 1986.
Marcos died in 1989 while still in exile. But his heirs later returned to Manila and have since staged a political comeback. Imelda Marcos is currently a congresswoman.
As a government official in the Marcos administration, Imelda was barred by law from having any financial interest from the Swiss foundations, said the ruling.
“The couple opened all those accounts in Switzerland, and they used pseudonyms to hide their ownership. The president chose William Saunders and Imelda Marcos used Jane Ryan,” special prosecutor Ryan Quilala told reporters.
Stay informed while on the go by subscribing to the Standard Group SMS service. Text the word 'NEWS' to 22840.
Her lawyers could not be reached, while a press aide told AFP there was no immediate comment.
Court officials said Marcos would be able to avoid incarceration by posting an as yet undetermined bail and has the right to appeal her conviction to the nation’s highest legal authority, the Supreme Court.
The body has previously undone a case against Imelda, overturning a 24 year jail sentence in 1993 on graft charges. She ran for congress and won while her appeal was underway.
The family’s notoriety stems back to Ferdinand Marcos declaring martial law in 1972. That allowed him to shutter the legislature, muzzle the free press and jail or kill those who dared to oppose his dictatorship.
In the decades since Marcos’s ouster the effort to recover the pilfered money has been halting and uneven.
However, the Philippine Supreme Court in 2003 ordered $680 million in funds stashed by the Marcoses in Swiss banks handed to the government.
The funds had earlier been turned over by the Swiss judiciary after concluding that the funds were stolen from the Manila government.
The younger generation of Marcoses have led high-profile careers, despite the dark past associated with their name.
Imelda and Ferdinand’s daughter Imee Marcos, is the governor of the family’s northern stronghold of Ilocos Norte province and helped bankroll the 2016 election campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte, according to him.
Imelda’s son, also named Ferdinand, almost won the separate election for vice president that year.
He has put the count under protest and hopes to run for president after Duterte’s term ends in mid-2022.
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