Civic organization August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM) strongly challenged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday regarding his assertion that his family does not hold ill-gotten assets, labeling the Chief Executive a generator of false claims.
In an official public response, the group vowed to confront the President’s statements head-on.
“We will not just let this pass without disputing this new claim of his. Which is not really surprising, considering that the Marcos brand has always been known to be associated with lies and propaganda,” ATOM said.
The advocacy group further highlighted the broader societal impact of historical revisionism on the nation.
“Our country has lived through so many lies already from your family, which has dragged our land into its current sorry state, since a lot of our people continue to fall for it,”
To counter the Chief Executive’s assertions, ATOM pointed to the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan’s 2018 ruling that found former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos guilty of seven graft counts. The criminal conviction stemmed from the illegal movement of $200 million into Swiss entity accounts during the presidency of her husband, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
The judgment handed down prison terms ranging from six to 11 years per count for the former First Lady, who remains free to this day.
ATOM recalled how the anti-graft court’s verdict was initially received by survivors of the regime.
“Many victims of Martial Law rejoiced with this news; she was, after all, the second half of the Conjugal Dictatorship that ruled our country with an iron fist for almost two decades,” ATOM said.
The group expressed deep frustration over the apparent lack of enforcement following the judicial decision.
“Unfortunately, until now, we have not heard what happened in that case. This shows how powerful the Marcoses and the Romualdezes have been ever since. No one from the dictatorship ever spent a day in jail after 1986,” it added.
President Marcos Jr. previously sidestepped queries regarding his family’s unpaid estate tax liabilities—estimated in the billions of pesos—stating that his responsibilities as chief executive leave him no time to track updates.
He additionally maintained that their assets ought not to be branded as ill-gotten, pointing to favorable rulings in civil suits as proof of legitimate acquisition.
This exchange follows the Sandiganbayan’s decision last June to throw out the remaining claims in the long-running civil forfeiture proceedings involving the Marcos family’s contested estate.