Human rights alliance KARAPATAN and the Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA), which spearheaded the historic class suit against the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in Hawaii, on Thursday denounced the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Sandiganbayan’s graft conviction of former First Lady Imelda Marcos.
The high court acquitted Marcos on seven counts of graft, ruling that prosecutors failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Critics noted she never spent a day in jail despite her conviction, and now walks free in what groups described as a “grave blow” to the decades-long struggle for justice and accountability.
“This ruling spits in the face of martial law victims whose lives were robbed while the Marcoses lived in extravagance,” the groups said, warning that the acquittal underscores how hollow justice can be in a country where plunderers evade accountability while ordinary Filipinos bear the cost of corruption.
KARAPATAN and SELDA accused the Marcos family of pursuing “full rehabilitation” of its name under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying the ruling reflects efforts to secure exoneration and retain billions allegedly stolen during the dictatorship. They also questioned the timing of the announcement, suggesting it was meant to quell public clamor for accountability.
“We now clearly see why corruption cases have focused heavily on the administration’s political rivals, whom the administration itself has tolerated and with whom it has been in alliance with, as the administration continues to evade the larger question of the Marcos family’s history of plunder and of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s responsibility as the sitting president amid massive corruption allegations involving government infrastructure projects,” the groups stated.
“The Marcos family’s return to power did not erase its history. Neither this ruling nor attempts to distort the record can erase the suffering of martial law victims or the continuing struggle to recover ill-gotten wealth,” they added.
Activists vowed to take to the streets on September 21, the anniversary of martial law, to protest what they called the “brazen rehabilitation” of the Marcoses.
Chants of “Imelda Marcos, ikulong! Marcos, mga magnanakaw! Nakaw na yaman, ibalik sa bayan!” will headline demonstrations marking the day. # (RRN)
