Palace officials said yesterday they cannot immediately withdraw the $150 million of the Marcos account from Swiss banks held in escrow at the Philippine National Bank unless certain conditions are met.

Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said that first, President Estrada must approve the deal entered into by the lawyers of the torture victims and the heirs of the late strongman.

Second, the settlement must pass the scrutiny of the Sandiganbayan, the Supreme Court and the US and Swiss federal courts -- a process that may take some time, he said.

Former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez supported Zamora's statement, adding that there are other rules that have to be complied with before the money could be withdrawn.

Among such requirements agreed upon by the Philippine government and Swiss authorities are the final conviction of former First Lady Imelda Marcos and a reasonable compensation for human rights victims.

"It's not either or, but both conditions must be met. If one is not met, which is a criminal condition, the Swiss court will not allow the transfer of the money," he said.

"The Marcoses are just playing with the people again," Chavez added. "We jump up and down like crazy chimpanzees every time small bananas are thrown our way. This is just much ado about nothing."

The Sandiganbayan had also prevented the government from entering into any transaction that would release the Marcoses' $580 million after noticing that the court was not informed of the deals that were conducted earlier.

In a resolution issued last year, the anti-graft court indicated that it should not be left out of whatever agreement the government enters into regarding the money because it is "the only forum for the recovery of ill-gotten wealth."

The Sandiganbayan said the Marcos money at the PNB "is not stated anywhere in the escrow agreements nor is the total amount rresented by all sums in escrow." It added that the escrow agreement is not with any Swiss entity or authority but with the PNB and the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), which has not shown its authority to deposit or transact the funds anywhere and for any purpose.

The court added that the agreement appears to have been signed by then PCGG Chairman Magtanggol Gunigundo, but the date or dates when the amount from the Marcos foundations were actually received by or deposited with the PNB are not indicated. A copy of an agreement involving the Maler Foundation reads that the money should not be disposed of "other than in accordance with a final and enforceable judgment of the Sandiganbayan, or ... any court, or in accordance with the written and identical instructions from the Maler Foundation and the government of the Philippines ..."

For his part, Galvez said the escrow account could not be moved since the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), which represents the PCGG in such deals, "were not party to the settlement." "If the money is to be taken from the escrow accounts it (the deal) should have included the OSG," Galvez said. In a chance interview during the 13th anniversary of the PCGG, Galvez said withdrawals from the escrow account should be a tripartite deal.

Marcoses hopeful to sign new deal

Still, the heirs of the late dictator said they hoped to reach a settlement with the Philippine government on the division of alleged ill-gotten money after signing a deal with victims of human rights abuse.

Ilocos Norte Gov. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a radio interview that the $150-million deal with the victims of rights abuses during his father's rule was the "first step" in reaching a settlement with the government.

Lawyers representing the 9,539 victims and the Marcos family announced the agreement in Los Angeles on Wednesday, ending 13 years of litigation that began after the former president's ouster in a popular uprising in 1986.

The settlement was signed by the victims' lawyer Robert Swift of the United States and Filipino lawyer Rod Domingo, as well as former First Lady Imelda Marcos, Ferdinand Jr. and their lawyers.

Magdangal Elma, head of a government agency tasked with recovering Marcos' alleged stolen wealth, signed for the government, Zamora said.

However, lawyer Romeo Capulong, who represents a faction of the 9,539 claimants, said they would reject the deal, claiming it was negotiated secretly -- a move that could further delay a resolution of the claims.

He said the agreement could contain a provision forgiving the Marcos family of their alleged crimes and giving them immunity from future suits tied to their role in the alleged plunder of national coffers during Marcos' 20-year rule.

"We will certainly reject any settlement that would forgive or condone or absolve the Marcoses and cronies of the crime of plunder and the crime of torture, disappearances and summary executions," Capulong said.

"We did not authorize Mr. Robert Swift to commit the 9,539 victims to any immoral or illegal settlement," he added.

Ferdinand Jr. said that during preliminary talks with President Estrada last year, they agreed to first satisfy the compensation demands of the rights victims before negotiating how to split up the rest of the amount.

"We allowed that this issue with the human rights victims be settled first because in the view of our president (Estrada), we cannot proceed with these talks unless we settle the issue with the human rights claimants," he added.

On the forthcoming negotiations with the Estrada administration, Marcos said both sides could start off with an aborted agreement with the government of former President Fidel Ramos.

That deal provided for the government to have 75 percent of the money, while the Marcos family gets 25 percent.

However, Ramos later disowned the accord and the Supreme Court nullified it. Zamora said that the government should get not less than 75 percent of the money.

Meanwhile, the Marcos family and their American lawyer James Paul Linn said in a statement that the human rights compensation deal is not an admission of guilt.

"The Marcos family agreed to this settlement not from a sense of guilt," said the statement.

The statement highlighted how neither Marcos nor any member of his family had ever been "charged with any human rights violation civilly or criminally anywhere in the world, including the Philippines."

The settlement was done "in the spirit of peace, reconciliation, and unity of the Filipino people," it added.

It was accompanied by a certification by the Commission on Human Rights that since Marcos' ouster in 1986 "there is no formal complaint" filed against the late former president and his family.

The statement also said that after the legal bills are deducted from $150 million, the balance would be given to President Estrada to distribute.

Mr. Estrada, however, must establish a "Truth Commission" to determine "genuine claimants, if there are any" of the 9,539 torture victims who had filed a class suit against the Marcos estate, the statement said.

If there are none, the money would be given to the Marcos foundation for Filipino veterans of World War II and the poor whom the statement described as "the true and just beneficiaries" of the fund.

Solon wants to review HR pact

In a related development, a congresswoman is demanding a thorough review of the deal to determine whether or not the Marcoses were spared from criminal or civil liabilities resulting from the deal.

"We have to see and scrutinize the agreement to look for booby traps like extending immunity to the Marcoses and an unfair division of the $580 million in escrow funds," said Albay Rep. Krisel Lagman-Luistro.

She added that the she wants to know if torture victims are amenable to such an amount of compensation.

Meanwhile, Senate President Marcelo Fernan welcomed the $150- million deal, but criticized the Marcoses for refusing to apologize to the torture victims.

"While this is a historic event since it shows that the Marcoses admit the abuses of martial law, what is needed is genuine repentance not arrogance on the Marcos family," he said.

For his part, Senate President Pro Tempore Blas Ople urged President Estrada to immediately approve the financial settlement.

He said that $150 million that the torture victims would get could help pump-prime the economy.

By Marichu Villanueva, Delon Porcalla, Teddy Molina, Alvin Tarroza, Jose Rodel Clapano, Perseus Echeminada, Romel Bagares, AFP