Sandiganbayan orders transfer of properties under Marcos-linked businessman to gov’t

The Sandiganbayan ordered the transfer to the government of several properties named under a businessman linked to the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The anti-graft court’s 2nd Division, in a resolution on Friday, November 26, directed seven land titles to be named under the Republic of the Philippines, from being named under late businessman Alfonso Lim Sr. and Taggat Industries.

The properties to be turned over include four in Claveria, Cagayan, two in Angono, Rizal, and one in Laurel, Batangas:

• Claveria properties – 8.1 hectares, 6 hectares, 2 hectares, and 0.82 hectare
• Rizal properties – 4.96 hectares, 56.7 hectares
• Batangas property – 129.15 hectares

The Cagayan properties are named under Taggat Industries, while the Batangas land remains under Lim, as verified by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) in 2018.

The properties in Rizal, however, were sold by the provincial government in 2011 due to non-payment of taxes.

The Sandiganbayan’s latest resolution enforces a decision dated December 2015, following almost three decades of legal battles between the government, the Marcos family, and the Lim family, among others.

It was found during the trial that Lim, who operated timber concessions, used his close ties with the Marcos family to get forest areas for his business.

According to the court, “so influential was Lim Sr. that he and Taggat and sister companies received certain timber-related benefits without the knowledge, let alone approval, of the Ministry of Natural Resources.”

A report by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 1986 pointed out that Lim had a total of 533,880 hectares and another 100,000 hectares for his timber concessions even if at that time, the maximum allowable for one license was capped at 100,000 hectares.

In 2010, the estate of Lim and his son Alfonso Jr. declared that they “unequivocally and completely waived and surrendered” any and all rights to the assets sequestered by the PCGG in favor of the Republic of the Philippines.

The resolution was penned by Associate Justice Oscar Herrera Jr., chairperson of the 2nd Division, with Associate Justice Michael Musngi and Associate Justice Maryann Corpus-Mañalac concurring. – Rappler.com