The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) joins the Filipino people in denouncing the decision of the Supreme Court affirming the previous decision of the Sandiganbayan dismissing the forfeiture case filed against ₱1.05 billion worth of ill-gotten properties of the Marcoses, including shares of stocks and real property. The case was originally filed in 1987. The Supreme Court decision was dated March 29 but was publicly released only last Wednesday.

The Supreme Court decision is part of the wave of court decisions that favor the Marcoses. It helps further pave the way for the Marcoses and their cronies to recover billions of pesos of property and wealth accumulated through bureaucratic corruption and privilege during the 1972-1986 martial law dictatorship.

The Supreme Court decision is a clear manifestation of the increasingly autocratic power of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It brings back images of the authoritarian rule of Marcos Sr who held overbearing control of the entire ruling state to accumulate vast amounts of wealth estimated to be more than $10 billion.

Today, all branches of government are now effectively under Marcos’ thumb. A few days ago, he signed the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) which was recently approved by the rubber stamp congress. The MIF gives Marcos Jr control over ₱500 billion in public funds which he can use to favor cronies, win political loyalty, and expand and perpetuate their political dynasty.

This decision of the Supreme Court, and all other measures giving the Marcos greater bureaucratic privilege and opportunity to plunder state funds, incite outrage among the Filipino people who have not forgotten the unpaid for crimes of the Marcos family, from the billions of dollars of stolen wealth, to the hundreds of thousands of victims under its reign of political repression.

The people are indignant over the return to power of the Marcos ruling clique and how they are using the government to aggrandize their wealth and power, while workers, peasants and ordinary people suffer from worsening socioeconomic conditions. While Marcos Jr continues to refuse pay more than ₱203.8 billion in taxes, jet set around the world and hold parties in Malacañang, the Filipino people suffer face spiralling prices, low wages, joblessness, landlessness and widespread economic dispossession.