By DAWN CECILIA PEÑA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – As another Marcos threatens to return to power, hundreds of millions in ill-gotten wealth have yet to be returned to the Filipino people.
Estimates of the ill-gotten wealth range from $5-10 billion to as much as $15 billion when Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was toppled in 1986.
“Assuming they had even just $5 billion in 1986, this could have inflated to at least $38.4 billion by 2021 from interest on deposits, earnings from investments, and appreciation in the value of real properties and assets,” said IBON Foundation, an independent think tank foundation.
With the rising unemployment and increasing prices of staple goods and services, this can actually provide, if evenly provided, 24.7 million households in the country at least P75,500, ($1,462) each.
The issue of the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses was among those discussed in the grand-teach protest during the 36th year commemoration since the toppling of the dictator.
In 2018, the wife of the late dictator, Imelda Marcos, was convicted of seven counts of graft and corruption. For each case, she was sentenced to imprisonment for a minimum of six years and one month to 11 years, or a total of 42 years and seven months to 77 years. She was never arrested.
Renato Reyes, secretary-general of Bayan said, “the Marcoses used to their advantage the system in place in the country to pave their way back to Malacañang. They will use their ill-gotten wealth to return to power.” (JJE, RVO) 
