The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) doubts that the trip of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Switzerland will revive the issue of the Swiss bank accounts of his family.
DFA Usec. Carlos Sorreta stressed on Thursday, January 12, that the upcoming trip of President Marcos has not 'triggered' any legal mechanisms in relation to the Swiss bank accounts.
"Mayroon tayong malinaw na framework for legal cooperation with Switzerland, nag-negotiate tayo ng mga agreements for cooperation on legal matters including even iyong mga matters that may relate to this issue," Sorreta said during a press briefing in Malacanang.
"None of those mechanisms have been triggered, whether the Swiss government or anything so we don&rsquo;t know, and we don&rsquo;t expect anything. I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s an issue," he added.
Sorreta also responded to concerns that President Marcos might withdraw money from the bank accounts, which the Supreme Court ruled in 2003 as ill-gotten wealth.
"If ever there is something like that we would know about it, but there is none. Like I said, bilateral relation with Switzerland is excellent. There is a legal framework for cooperation on financial matters, and none of it has been triggered," the DFA official said.
President Marcos will fly to Switzerland in order to attend the 2023 World Economic Forum that will run from January 15 to January 20.
In 2018, the Sandiganbayan 5th Division convicted former Ilocos Norte Representative and First Lady Imelda Marcos, the mother of President Marcos, for seven counts of graft.
The former First Lady and her husband, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, have been accused of opening and managing Swiss foundations in order to hide stolen public funds in the 1970s.
The camp of the former First Lady appeals to the decision in the Supreme Court.
In 2014, the Presidential Commission on Good Government said that the agency has recovered the remaining US$29 million worth of ill-gotten wealth stashed in the Swiss bank accounts of the Marcos family.
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DFA exec doubts Swiss bank accounts will become an issue during Switzerland trip of President