Noynoy pushes full review of PCGG ‘midnight deal’

Admitting it cannot be scrapped outright, Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III pushed for a full review of a supposed midnight deal involving the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) regarding the Marcos ill-gotten assets. Aquino said there are laws and procedures to follow in checking if the supposed midnight deal is justifiable or not. “I think the minimum is we review all of that," he said, adding he cannot be sure if more drastic actions like freezing the Marcos accounts in Switzerland can be done immediately. Only after a thorough review of the deal could we decide on what to do with it, he added. “One of the things I first learned when I was a congressman even if the deal is extremely injurious to public interest it cannot be revoked just like that. I want to consult. There is that desire but we will have to go through the legal process to be able to make sure what we are doing is in accordance with our jurisprudence. It is frustrating but that is the doctrine." The PCGG said Friday it was working out what it described as a “universal settlement" with the heirs of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. PCGG Commissioner Ricardo Abcede said he met with Marcos’ son-in-law, Greggy Araneta, Tuesday to talk about the recovery of about P140 billion in Marcos assets tied up in 520 civil cases in the local courts. Abcede declined to elaborate on what he and Araneta talked about. — LBG, GMANews.Tv