That, he said, made the dummy foundations parties to the agreement between the Philippine National Bank and the Presidential Commission on Good Government.

He added that the escrow agreements were spurious because no actual transfer of funds was made and the transfer was not authorized by Swiss authorities.

Citing the two-page escrow report, a copy of which was furnished the Inquirer, Salonga said that contrary to Mr. Estrada's claim, the money remained on "paper" as the actual funds were still in Switzerland.

The report was signed by officials of the Philippine National Bank.

Salonga said he found it "alarming" that the government made the Marcos foundations claimants to the deposits "on the day that Mr. Estrada took his oath as President."

As of June 30, the consolidated statement of account of the escrow funds amounted to $491.5 million in "cash and securities," the report showed.

Government officials estimate that at present, the money grew to a total of $580 million.

"The escrow report only proves that the escrow agreements were indeed spurious because no actual transfer of funds took place and was not signed by Swiss authorities," Salonga told the Inquirer.

Salonga, the first chair of the PCGG named the six dummy foundations as Aguamina Corp., Avertina, Palmy, Vibur, Fondaton Maler and Arelma Foundations.

They are the third parties to the agreement, the first and second being the PNB and the PCGG.

Some of the funds deposited in the name of these foundations, he said, were acquired through "kickbacks" from various government projects during the term of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

He cited as example the testimony executed in 1986 by the late Baltazar Aquino, former public works and highways minister, that the money deposited in the name of Aguamina Corp. was taken from the "Japanese reparation payments kickback."

Salonga was then the PCGG chair when Aquino's testimony was executed.

He urged President Estrada to strike a "real and honest to goodness" escrow agreements with Peter Cosandey the District Attorney of Zurich and referred to in the agreements as the Examining Magistrate.

However, Salonga said none of the Aug. 14, 1995 escrow agreements contained the order and signature of Cosandey, the authoritative person who can issue a binding order to deposit the Marcos Swiss deposits in escrow in the PNB.

The escrow agreements were entered into between the PCGG, represented by former chair Magtanggol Gunigundo, and the PNB, represented by SVP and Trust Office Jose V. Ferro.

Cosandey reportedly met with Mr. Estrada on Tuesday.

Salonga warned that a "genuine" escrow agreements should be inked before Cosandey retires on March 1.

"Mr. Estrada has the whole of February to do away with spurious escrow agreements and come up with a new one that is signed by Cosandey to correct the wrongs," he said.

Some of the corrections that should be done was to exclude the dummy foundations as claimants to the deposits, Salonga said.

It was also important, Salonga said, that the real escrow agreements would take into account the conditions set by the Swiss authorities to obtain judgment from the local courts on the forfeiture case against the Marcoses in favor of the government and to satisfy the compensation claims of the human rights victims.

He said it was Cosandey who was responsible for winning decisions in favor of the Philippines before the Swiss high court.

Salonga said Cosandey was sustained by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court which promulgated the definitive decisions in favor of the Philippines on Dec. 10, 1997, Dec. 19, 1997 and Jan. 7, 1998, Salonga said.