Government lawyers will seek the approval of the compromise deal before the Sandiganbayan.

But the Sandiganbayan insists that the settlement for the 10,000 human rights victims should be approved first by a lower court.

Solicitor General Ricardo Galvez said his office, which represents the Presidential Commission on Good Government, will ask the Sandiganbayan's first division to allow the setting aside of the $150 million for the human rights claimants, who have won a $2-billion award for damages against the Marcos estate.

This was in accordance with a separate agreement of undertaking signed by PCGG Chair Magdangal Elma and representatives of the Philippine National Bank and five of the 12 Marcos foundations which controlled the funds.

The settlement will be taken out of the $590-million Marcos Swiss deposits now placed in an escrow account at the Philippine National Bank.

But Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Francis Garchitorena said he felt that the approval of the deal should be resolved by a regional trial court.

He said that he was still in the dark regarding the deal, and that he had not yet been informed about it, even informally, by both the PCGG and the OSG.

Garchitorena insisted it would be best if the US court judgment on the award, and on the settlement, would first be enforced in a regional trial court, and not necessarily the Sandiganbayan.

If the Sandiganbayan fails to approve the deal, the $150 million would not be wired to the registry of the US District Court in time for the April 29 ''formal fairness hearing.''

3rd condition

The Sandiganbayan's approval of the deal is the third condition needed, aside from President Estrada's nod and signature, so that the $150 million could be wired to the registry of the US District Court, for distribution to the 10,000 human rights victims.

The Marcos deposits invested abroad will be recalled following the PCGG approval of its release and transfer to a ''settlement fund'' for the human rights victims.

PCGG Chair Elma yesterday said the government would waive its rights and interests over the $150 million.

Elma said the PCGG's approval to recall the money and cause its transfer was pursuant to President Estrada's directive to make possible the immediate compensation of the martial law victims.

The claimants' lawyers--lead counsel Robert Swift and his Filipino co-counsel Rod Domingo--have asked for the PCGG's immediate approval of the money transfer.

US District Court Judge Manuel Real gave his preliminary approval on Feb. 24, leaving the government up to March 5 to effect the money transfer.

The Marcos deposits were invested by the PNB in the money market, high-yield securities, bonds, notes and precious metals with varying maturities.

The escrow accounts were placed in investment houses with Standard and Poor's rating of ''AA'' in London, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States.

Not signatory

Elma stressed that the government or the PCGG was ''not a signatory'' to any compromise agreement between the rights victims and the Marcoses. ''

The PCGG did not sign the compromise agreement because the PCGG was never a party, in the first place, to the human rights class suit filed in Honolulu, Hawaii,'' Elma said.

Thus, he said, the PCGG found ''no compelling reason'' to be a signatory to the proposed settlement.

When the agreement-document was presented to the PCGG, Elma agreed that it contained terms and conditions which he described as ''dubious, unreasonable and or legally untenable.''

Midnight insertion

He was referring to the midnight insertion made by the Marcos lawyers. The clause stipulates that the Marcoses had ''never been charged with human rights violations anywhere in the world, including in the Philippines,'' but if they were, ''they are fully released by this paragraph.''

Despite the clause, however, Elma said the PCGG had no choice but to approve the agreement in compliance with a separate agreement or ''undertaking'' he had forged with the PNB and the Marcos foundations.

The Marcos foundations that gave their go-signal included the Vibur Foundation, Avertina Foundation, Aguamina Corp., Maler Foundation and Palmy Foundation.

The escrow money remains in the name of these foundations.

In the undertaking, Elma said, both PCGG and the Marcos Foundations agreed to ''release, transfer or waive $150 million from the escrow funds.''

Formal fairness hearing

On April 29, Real will hold a ''formal fairness hearing'' to consider the ''reasonableness, fairness and adequacy'' of the proposed settlement.

Real will allow the rights victims the chance to make objections to the controversial clause.

Thereafter, Real will render his decision on whether or not to give his final approval of the agreement.

In an order, Real said the settlement funds would be deposited in an ''interest bearing account'' in a bank he would designate in Hawaii.

However, Real said should the court direct the return of the settlement funds as a result of the settlement agreement being terminated without the class members being compensated, he would return the settlement funds along with ''accrued interest'' to the PNB.

Undertaking

The undertaking was signed by Elma as representative of the first party or the Philippine government; PNB senior vice president and trust officer Jose V. Ferro as representative of the second party, the PNB; and Patrick Foetish, lawyer of the third party, the Marcos foundations Vibur, Avertina, Agustina, Maler and Palmy.

Both the PCGG and the Office of the Solicitor General will bat, before the Sandiganbayan, for the satisfaction of the settlement of the human rights claimants who have won a $2-billion award for damages from the US District Court against the Marcos estate.

The judgment has been affirmed with finality by the US Supreme Court.

Galvez said Malacañang had already asked for the comment of the PCGG and the Office of the Solicitor General on setting aside $150 million for human rights claimants.

No effect on forfeiture case

''We said we have no objections,'' Galvez said. ''This has no effect on the forfeiture case which we are going to pursue against the Marcoses.''

The OSG will be representing the PCGG and file the required motion for approval of the settlement signed by representatives of the human rights claimants, the Marcoses and the government, with the Sandiganbayan.

Longer route

Rod Domingo Jr., one of the Filipino counsels of the martial law victims, feared the longer route which Garchitorena wanted to take, could take more years of litigation.

The forfeiture case, Civil Case 0141, filed by the government against the Marcoses has been pending before the Sandiganbayan for the past seven years. The anti-graft court has yet to allow the OSG to present its ''overwhelming'' evidence against the Marcoses in the forfeiture case.

According to the agreement signed by lawyers of the human rights claimants, Imelda Marcos, her son Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and their lawyers, the money will be wired to the registry of the US District Court within 10 days after the court's provisional approval of the deal.

The lawyers here of the human rights claimants led by Domingo started mailing the claim forms and ''notice of proposed settlement of class action'' to all 9,539 class members last Monday.

Individual payments

''The Court will make distributions to the individual class members directly, not through intermediaries. Consistent with its prior orders, the Court will not recognize the validity of special powers of attorney solicited by certain persons and groups,'' said the notice prepared by the US Clerk of Court.

Any objections to the settlement must be received by the court on or before March 30, 1999.

''As the Court has not yet approved the distribution approach, you should not assume you will receive any specific amount. Should the court give its final approval to the settlement, any party to the settlement may object to specific claims which will then be reviewed by the Special Master (Sol Schreiber) first,'' the clerk of court said in the notice to the class members.

It stated that except for the 135 claims already reviewed by the federal jury, the special master shall review all claims utilizing the criteria adopted by the court at the trial on the compensatory damages establishing a human rights violation.

The 135 victims were chosen randomly out of the 9,539 martial law victims to represent the class; their depositions were used to obtain the $2-billion judgment for the human rights claimants.

Schreiber will also recommend to the court an allocation of the settlement proceeds to each class member and a procedure for appealing disallowed claims.

''Final decisions on distribution remain with the Court,'' he said.

By Donna S. Cueto and Christine Herrera