Making Marcos Cough Up

Daily, almost hourly, authorities in Manila add new chapters to the catalogue of economic crimes committed by deposed President Ferdinand E. Marcos, his family and friends. Already, in its awesome excesses, the Marcos record of depredation stands fair to qualify as one of the wonders of the modern world. Under Marcos, the systematic plundering of the economy and resources of the Philippines seemed to know neither limits nor controls. President Corazon Aquino’s government says that the wealth embezzled and looted by the Marcos family could total as much as $10 billion. That is more than three times the annual national budget of the Philippines.

The United States has now given the Aquino government copies of the documents seized by customs agents when Marcos and his entourage fled to Hawaii last month. The papers, 2,300 pages of them, are believed to detail the extent and location of much of Marcos’ hidden wealth. A lot of this loot may well prove to be unrecoverable. Jovito R. Salonga, who is in charge of Philippine efforts to trace and reclaim stolen assets, says that the “bulk” of the Marcos fortune is in Swiss bank accounts, effectively beyond the reach of recovery. But hundreds of millions of dollars in Marcos family assets are known to be in the United States. There is much that the U.S. government can do to prevent Marcos and his associates from retaining or spiriting away these assets.

President Reagan has broad powers to aid Philippine authorities as they try to recover some of the Marcos wealth. His vehicle is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, under which he can declare that “an unusual and extraordinary threat” exists to U.S.-Philippine relations. The economic shambles left by Marcos at home and American interest in the well-being and security of the Philippines justify declaring such a threat. By saying so, the President would obtain the authority to freeze Marcos family assets inthe United States while litigation over them is pending, and the power to guarantee the enforcement of any judgments against the Marcos family handed down in U.S. courts.

Each day’s delay in taking such action leaves open the door through which Marcos can transfer additional assets beyond U.S. jurisdiction. Each day’s delay casts a shadow over future U.S.-Philippine relations. The United States promised to protect Marcos against harm, not to guard or guarantee his looted fortune. The United States has carried out its commitment to Marcos. Now it must carry out its obligations to the Philippines.