Philippine Martial Law Survivors Outraged As Imelda Marcos' Graft Conviction Overturned

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Victims and survivors of the dictatorship in the Philippines in the 1970s and 1980s said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is indeed his father's son, accusing him of using his powers to restore his family's tarnished name following the 1986 uprising that deposed former strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

The human rights community in the country is in uproar following the belated announcement of a June 10 decision by the First Division of the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) overturning former First Lady Imelda Marcos' 2018 conviction by the anti-corruption court on seven counts of graft.

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In a 50-page decision by the SC First Division, the tribunal ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the former Philippine First Lady's guilt beyond reasonable doubt, with the testimonies and evidence against her“lack[ing] probative weight and being inadmissible.”

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The original 2018 ruling by the Sandiganbayan sentenced the President's mother to six years and one month up to 11 years in prison for each of the seven counts, stemming from alleged financial interests in private Swiss foundations during her tenure as Metro Manila governor.

Imelda never spent a day in jail despite the earlier conviction.

The SC's reversal came just eight days after the Sandiganbayan's dismissal of the last remaining ill-gotten wealth case against the Marcoses, in a ruling dated June 2, 2026.

Distorting history

“This is outrageous,” said Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (Carmma) spokesperson Kris Lacaba, noting:“Ferdinand Marcos Jr has done what he set out to do in gunning for the presidency-to recoup all of his family's ill-gotten wealth sequestered by the government and wipe the slate clean of any remaining corruption cases against his family."

“The Marcoses can now cite these dismissals to bolster their distorted narratives and revisions of history,” added Lacaba,“but the Filipino people have not forgotten their thievery, which even landed the former president (Marcos Sr) a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as having been responsible for the 'Greatest robbery of a government.'”

Guinness cited estimates that $5 billion to $10 billion was stolen from the Philippines during Marcos Sr's rule. The late strongman's heirs deny all accusations of the so-called“world's biggest kleptocracy” during its time.

“Striking off any mention of the Marcoses' corruption from official annals will not cause the people to forget,” stressed Lacaba.“The people remember and will not forgive the Marcoses for their plunder of the people's money during their long and brutal reign. "Besides, history has shown that an outraged people can take action to rid themselves of incorrigibly corrupt governments.”

What were the charges against Imelda?

The charges involved alleged financial interests in foreign foundations called Maler, Trinidad, Rayby and Palmy foundations, including accounts with Swiss financial institutions while serving in the Marcos-controlled parliament, as a member of the Cabinet, and as Metro Manila governor.

In convicting Imelda, the anti-corruption court found that roughly $200 million in public funds had been funneled into these secret Swiss accounts and foundations for the private benefit of the Marcos family.

After their ouster in 1986, Switzerland officially returned a total of $683 million in recovered Marcos hidden wealth to the Philippines, equivalent to approximately Dh2.5 billion today.

Activist group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said the Marcoses and their cronies provided the template for the systematic plunder of the country's resources.“Imelda's Swiss foundations are like today's ghost projects, confidential funds, and pork barrel contractors. Their family's extravagant lifestyle is the (original) model of corrupt officials flaunting their stolen wealth on social media,” Bayan said.

Suspicious timing

Carmma said the timing of the announcement of the three-month-old court ruling is highly suspicious, accusing Marcos Jr of authorising the decision's announcement to distance himself and first cousin Martin Romualdez from the flood-control projects controversy.

Romualdez, the first Speaker of the House of Representatives under the Marcos Jr presidency, is under arrest on charges of plunder. He is, however, confined in a private hospital, avoiding jail time.

“Marcos Jr cannot forever feign innocence over his leading role in today's massive cases of government corruption when no less than former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo disclosed that P8 billion in graft money had been delivered to high-ranking Malacañang officials in the first quarter of 2025 alone,” Lacaba underscored.

“In the same vein, the dismissal of martial law-era cases of thievery against the dictator's family, while another Marcos now sits in Malacañang, cannot remove the stench of corruption that will always follow this kleptocratic family wherever it goes,” he concluded.

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