The PCGG has hired five new lawyers to work full time to pursue ''vigorously'' all cases against the Marcoses and their cronies.

The PCGG said yesterday that the pre-trial of all Marcos ill-gotten wealth cases would start anytime this year.

PCGG Commissioner Jorge Sarmiento said a new tack in pinning down the Marcoses was being taken ''in the absence of any acceptable agreement'' between the government and the Marcoses.

Sarmiento was referring to the 75-25 agreement, being pushed by President Estrada as the only way to recover the Marcos money.

But the PCGG said Malacañang had also issued a directive to pursue the cases since the government was ''confident of the merits and strength of the forfeiture cases.''

''The hiring of experienced and seasoned lawyers is meant to beef up the legal defense of the government, particularly in the mother of all cases, Civil Case 0141 or Forfeiture Case,'' Sarmiento told the Inquirer.

The forfeiture case would be the ''turning point,'' Sarmiento said, in proving that the Marcoses ''plundered'' the economy during his strongman rule.

The PCGG tracked down the loot in two Swiss banks in the name of six Marcos foundations and under the pseudonym of ''Jane Ryan'' for Imelda Marcos and ''William Saunders'' for Ferdinand Marcos.

The Marcos accounts involving some $356 million in 1995 have since grown to $590 million as of Dec. 31, 1998 due to the accrued interests.

The forfeiture case was filed seven years ago before the Sandiganbayan.

200 cases

According to Sarmiento, the PCGG has 200 other ill-gotten wealth cases filed against the Marcoses and the cronies since the 1986 Edsa Revolt.

All of these cases are pending in various courts and have yet to reach the pre-trial stage after more than 12 years of litigation, he said.

Sarmiento attributed the delay to the lack of legal manpower. Sarmiento said that the previous PCGG commissioners retained the services of lawyers only on a part-time basis, including those recruited from the Office of the Solicitor General.

This time, he said, the new lawyers will be concentrating on nothing but the recovery of the Marcos assets with the collaboration of state prosecutors.

Sarmiento refused to divulge the lawyers' identities to spare them from possible pressures from interested parties.

''With the help of the experienced lawyers that we've hired, we are optimistic that we can concentrate on fighting it out in various courts,'' Sarmiento said. ''Hopefully, we can now concentrate on handling the pre-trial of the cases and win big for the government.''

Sarmiento explained there was ''overwhelming evidence'' for the government to win the cases.

''The PCGG has been conducting a thorough review of the cases filed against the Marcoses and their cronies, and the indications are that the government will succeed in obtaining for itself favorable decisions eventually,'' the PCGG statement noted.

Escrow amount

 The money involved in the forfeiture case was remitted to the PNB on April 16, 1998 pursuant to the escrow agreements signed between the PCGG and the Philippine National Bank.

The validity of the escrow agreement has been upheld by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.

The PNB, in compliance with the Swiss high court's decision, invested the Marcos deposits in ''high-yield securities, bonds, notes and precious metals'' in various investment houses with ''AA'' rating in England, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore and the United States, Sarmiento had earlier told the Inquirer.

The money, however, remained at the disposal of the Swiss authorities.

Sarmiento said the ''bottom line'' in the scheduled vigorous prosecution of the cases was to ''obtain judgment'' against the Marcoses to recover the $590 million in Marcos deposits held in escrow at the Philippine National Bank.

While the escrow money was earning huge interest after it had been invested in five foreign countries, Sarmiento said, the government could not tap the money pending court judgment against the Marcoses.

Why agreement stalled

 The agreement between the government and the Marcoses has been stalled because the Supreme Court disallowed a settlement with the Marcos if it involved the dropping of criminal charges against the Marcoses and the granting of immunity from suit and tax exemptions.

The compromise would also violate the condition set by the Swiss Federal Court that before the money could be touched, the Philippine government must compensate the more than 10,000 human rights victims during the Marcos dictatorship.

During negotiations with the Marcoses, it also became clear to President Estrada that the Marcos heirs were not speaking with one voice.

While the Marcos children want an immediate settlement, Imelda Marcos is intent on pursuing cases against her husband's cronies, who had allegedly been entrusted, according to her, with P500-billion worth of the Marcos assets.

The PCGG's renewed commitment harks back to its original mandate, which was to sequester and recover the Marcos loot and to file the necessary criminal and civil cases against the dictator and his family and associates.

Over the weekend, Makati Rep. Joker Arroyo, who was the executive secretary when the PCGG was formed in 1986, proposed a formula on how to recover the Marcos ill-gotten wealth: ''To prosecute the Marcoses till kingdom come.''