Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos is “already old” and she might be angry if there are police units monitoring her before her possible arrest, the police said on Monday.
“The former first lady might get angry at us since she’s already old. We have to take into consideration her age,” Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Oscar Albayalde said in a news briefing on Monday.
Albayalde was reacting to critics who said Mrs. Marcos is being treated reverently while perceived Malacañang nemesis Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th had been threatened with arrest for his allegedly invalid amnesty over rebellion charges when he was still an active Navy officer.
Mrs. Marcos was found guilty by the Sandiganbayan on Friday in seven graft cases in connection with her personal financial interests in Swiss-based foundations while she was a public official from 1968 to 1986.
The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) also on Monday lauded the decision of the Sandiganbayan, saying it is “happy over the decision despite the two decades of waiting.”
Under the decision, Mrs. Marcos faces 77 years in jail at the maximum.
“It goes to show that justice still lives in our justice system despite its flaws and weaknesses. The Sandiganbayan has not given up on the Marcos cases and steadfastly held on to upholding its mandate despite the long years that have passed. We feel proud in the decision and we share in the triumph of the Filipino victims of the repressive regime of the Marcoses. It is a historic decision,” Arsenio Evangelista, VACC president, said.
Albayalde said they have to wait for a warrant for the former first lady before deploying the police to arrest her.
He defended police presence in the Senate where in September Trillanes holed up to avoid arrest over his supposedly voided amnesty.
“In his case, it’s just a preemptive measure just in case he steps out of the office. In Mrs. Marcos’ case, we don’t see any problem because she’s already old and she’s a woman,” Albayalde said.
He added that they will accord the same respect to Mrs. Marcos “just like what we accorded to Sen. Trillanes.”
Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division is nearing decision in a civil case filed against the Ilocos Norte lawmaker and her children Imee, Irene and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for recovery of ill-gotten wealth.
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), which assisted the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), filed its memorandum on May 8, 2018 while Mrs. Marcos and heirs of the late President Ferdinand Marcos filed their memorandum on July 31.
In the third amended complaint, the PCGG alleged that “[d]efendants illegally accumulated funds and other property whose estimated value is P200 billion.”
The government sought the recovery and reconveyance of “all funds and other property”that were allegedly “acquired by defendants during their incumbency as public officers.”
It also sought the payment of alleged “[a]ctual damages reasonably estimated at P200 billion and additional actual damages to reimburse expenses for the recovery of the” alleged ill-gotten wealth
“reasonably estimated at P250 million or in such amount as may be proven during the trial.”
The government further sought the payment of alleged moral damages in the amount of P50 billion and exemplary damages in the amount of P1 billion, among others.
With a reports from REINA C. TOLENTINO