Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) has revived the proposal to abolish the Presidential Commission on Good Government, a press release from his office said.

Pimentel initiated this move in the wake of reports that the sequestration of rest houses, mansions and other properties of the Marcoses has been lifted by the PCGG despite evidence showing they were part of the ill-gotten wealth of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Pimentel filed Senate Bill 202 seeking the abolition of the PCGG created under Executive Order No. 1 issued on Feb. 28, 1986 by then President Corazon Aquino.

This is a modified version of the same bill that he introduced way back in 1998.

Pimentel recommended that PCGG officials and employees who will lose their jobs as a result of the PCGG's phaseout, whether permanent, contractual or casual, be given gratuities equivalent to two months salary for every year of service without prejudice to other benefits to which they are entitled under existing laws and regulations, the press release said. Despite the awesome investigative, sequestration and prosecution powers granted to the PCGG, he said the accomplishments of the Commission, which was intended to be a temporary or ad hoc body, fell short of its objective and public expectations, he added.

One of the biggest failures of the PCGG, he said, is that an estimated P100 billion in sequestered coconut levy assets invested in the San Miguel Corp. and coconut oil mills have not been turned over to the government due to poor handling of court cases. This has deprived millions of coconut farmers of resources to bail them out from the economic hardships which can be done by rehabilitating the moribund coconut industry and providing them alternative means of livelihood, the press release said. The PCGG is now working for an out-of-court settlement of the coconut levy cases, it added.*

back to top