Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao vowed on Friday that if he was elected as Philippine president, he would recover billions of dollars of wealth missing since the fall of Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s dictatorship.
Pacquiao’s comments are a jab at rival and early favorite Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whose family was accused of plundering an estimated $10 billion during his late father’s opulent two-decade rule.
The family was accused of spending money on jewelry, real estate, and scores of artworks including those of Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet.
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Pacquiao said the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), which recouped $3.41 billion of wealth from the Marcoses and their associates in 33 years, would be empowered to recover more if he wins the May 9 election.
Pacquiao told a forum of presidential candidates, from which Marcos, better known as “Bongbong”, was absent citing a schedule conflict, that, “We will strengthen the PCGG and the money that belongs to the government should be given to the government.”
“The reason why our country is poor is because of thieves in government and that is why we need to eradicate corruption,” said Pacquiao.
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The Marcos campaign team did not immediately respond to a request for comment and earlier in a Jan. 25 radio interview, Marcos acknowledged court judgments against the family regarding assets and said it would respect the law and court decisions.
Other presidential contenders, Vice President Leni Robredo, Manila Mayor Francisco Domagaso, Senator Panfilo Lacson and Leody de Guzman, a labor leader, all pledged to protect public money.
Despite being overthrown in a 1986 revolt and driven into exile, the Marcos family remains a powerful force in the Philippines. It has loyalists throughout the bureaucracy and political and business elite.
