On Australian TV: No ill-gotten wealth? Only a few dared to speak up in Manila

CHEERS TO Rappler, Philstar.com, News5, and Vera Files for exposing the lies that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said about his family’s ill-gotten wealth in an interview on Australian television during his visit to Melbourne last February 28 and 29 to attend the Australian-ASEAN Summit. 

Rappler went further to point out that Marcos has not been open to one-on-one interviews with journalists in the Philippines, noting that Malacañang has carefully selected reporters for these rare occasions and choosing those they think will not ask difficult questions. 

At the sidelines of the event, he addressed the Australian Parliament, reiterating the importance of bilateral relations to maintain peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region. 

Marcos did not mention to Filipino reporters that he would do a one-on-one interview with journalist Sarah Ferguson, host of 7:30, the flagship current affairs program of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It is unclear when the interview was booked, but Marcos clearly agreed to do it since it was set up as a sit-down interview. Ferguson led the 16-minute interview with questions on China’s growing military power, transitioning to security pacts to address the conflict and eventually asking Marcos about the regime of his father, former president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.

Ferguson’s interview aired on ABC on March 4, parts of which Philippine media carried, recording the president’s denial of his family’s ill-gotten wealth. Marcos also downplayed as “propaganda” the findings of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) that his family amassed billions-worth of public funds, and that these have not been fully recovered.

PH news point to evidence of ill-gotten wealth

Some news outfits, including GMA News Online and The Philippine Star merely reported Marcos’ statements without question. But Rappler, Philstar.com, News5 and Vera Files checked every claim closely, referring to PCGG documents, Supreme Court rulings and Sandiganbayan cases that affirmed the ill-gotten wealth and ordered the forfeiture of the Marcos family’s assets, including $658-million worth of Swiss bank deposits.

Philstar.com’s Cristina Chi also countered Marcos’ claim in the interview that his family lost everything when they sought exile in Hawaii, recalling evidence that they brought crates of cash, jewelry and bank certificates with them. Rappler’s Dwight de Leon added that the Marcos family has refused to pay estate tax—now amounting to PHP203 billion including interest—since they still claim ownership of properties in dispute.  

All four accounts noted that when Ferguson shifted to a question about “the plunder” of the Philippine economy. Marcos laughed, quickly picking up Ferguson’s prompt question about his reaction: What’s funny about plunder?

On Rappler, De Leon noted that Marcos gave an incoherent response before regaining composure. His online report included a transcription of the president’s attempt to answer, capturing every pause and repeated stutter. 

Rare one-on-one interviews with PH journalists 

De Leon also went further to describe how Marcos has not made himself available to the press for questions. Malacañang has imposed a “no ambush” policy on reporters assigned to cover the president’s office. 

De Leon added that the president “tends to lower his guard when he travels abroad,” but he was “visibly flustered” when Ferguson posed the plunder question.

Stewards of truth 

That the Marcoses gained immense “hidden wealth” during Marcos Sr.’s tenure is no longer a subject of dispute, given the judicial evidence of the family’s plunder. There are some journalists in the Philippines who would have done what Ferguson did – ask Marcos Jr. to address this continuing grievance of many Filipinos who knew how the family lived in various places around the world after they were overthrown from power, and how they survived in style when they had no means of supporting themselves. 

Even during Martial Law, many Filipinos knew about misuse of national funds. Journalists abroad shared their findings with the country’s “mosquito press,” showing accounts held by the Marcoses abroad. Today, there are enough studies and publications which recounted how Marcos Sr. plunged the country into debt while building up a private and personal family fortune. 

Judging by reactions on social media, the facts are still well known. On X (formerly Twitter), responses reflected widespread incredulity about Marcos Jr.’ attempts to sweep the truth aside. The exchange included the shared wish for Filipinos to demand accountability as Ferguson did in Melbourne. 

And yet there are those who refuse to hear about the evidence and were offended by Ferguson’s questions. For this reason, the issue should be kept alive by journalists, using documents, court decisions and other developments showing the family’s claim to assets, gained while only Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were in complete control.  

This is a challenge that the current crop of journalists should not ignore; but rather accept as the four news organizations have done with the president’s statements in Melbourne. They should correct errors in the claims made by others. They should commit to revive the narrative of economic plunder that has been the subject of trials abroad and in the Philippines. The notable gains awarded to the Philippine government by the courts prove the magnitude of corruption and plunder that enriched the Marcos family while in power. 

Moving forward should involve accountability. To lie about the obvious wealth gained by Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos suggests the refusal of President Marcos Jr. to be accountable for the past. Filipino journalists need to counter the lies perpetrated by the president or any member of the Marcos family. If necessary, they should keep alive the narrative of plunder and hidden wealth along with the disruption of national development when his father was in power.