The Sandiganbayan has dismissed the remaining asset claims in the decades-old forfeiture case involving the Marcos family after the government said it would no longer pursue additional evidence for the unresolved properties.
In a resolution promulgated on June 2, the anti-graft court noted that the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) informed the tribunal that it would no longer present evidence covering the remaining assets not included in previous partial summary judgments under Civil Case No. 0141.
“Petitioner filed a Manifestation, stating that it would no longer present evidence with respect to the remaining listed properties not covered by the partial summary judgments,” the resolution stated.
The development effectively ends litigation over the outstanding asset claims in a case that has remained pending for more than three decades.
Prior to the dismissal, members of the Sandiganbayan’s Special Division had questioned government lawyers over repeated delays in presenting evidence and witnesses.
During hearings in May, the PCGG explained that many of the agency’s original personnel handling the case had already retired and that remaining staff were still reviewing extensive records related to the alleged ill-gotten wealth.
However, Associate Justice Maryann Corpus-Mañalac stressed that prolonged delays could not continue indefinitely, noting that the court expected the parties to be prepared to proceed with the case.
Associate Justice Juliet Manalo-San Gaspar likewise pointed out that the prosecution had already been directed in September 2025 to organize its evidence and witnesses.
Government lawyers argued that the lengthy proceedings were not solely attributable to the PCGG, citing motions filed by respondents and legal issues elevated to the Supreme Court. They also maintained that tracing the alleged wealth was particularly difficult because assets were allegedly concealed through layers of intermediaries and corporate structures.
Among the respondents named in the forfeiture case are President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former First Lady Imelda Marcos, Senator Imee Marcos, and Irene Marcos-Araneta.
Despite the dismissal of the remaining claims, several major assets linked to the Marcos family had already been forfeited in earlier rulings.
In 2003, the Supreme Court declared that approximately $658 million in Swiss bank deposits belonging to former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. constituted ill-gotten wealth and ordered the transfer of the funds to the National Treasury.
The high court also upheld the forfeiture of assets held through Arelma S.A., a Panama-based corporation identified as a Marcos-controlled entity. The assets were originally placed in a Merrill Lynch account in New York and reportedly grew substantially over time.
The Sandiganbayan had also previously ordered the forfeiture of several artworks associated with the Marcos family, including paintings attributed to renowned artists such as Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Rembrandt.
Meanwhile, the Hawaii Jewelry Collection and the Malacañang Collection were cited in a 1996 Sandiganbayan resolution as assets that former First Lady Imelda Marcos had ceded to the government in exchange for the withdrawal of specific cases filed against her.
The latest ruling closes another chapter in one of the country’s longest-running efforts to recover assets allegedly accumulated during the Marcos administration.
