MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has acquitted former first lady Imelda Marcos on seven counts of graft, ruling that prosecutors failed to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt because key testimony and documentary evidence did not meet evidentiary requirements.
The high court’s First Division issued the decision dated June 10 and made it public Wednesday. It overturned the Sandiganbayan’s November 2018 ruling that found Marcos guilty of violating Section 3(h) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The 50-page decision, penned through Justice Rodil Zalameda, said prosecutors failed to establish that the Swiss foundations linked to the Marcos family qualified as businesses covered under the law.
The Sandiganbayan had sentenced Marcos to prison terms ranging from six years and one month to 11 years for each of the seven counts, with a possible combined maximum of 77 years. She remained out on bail while she appealed the ruling.
The cases stemmed from allegations that Marcos and her late husband, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., used Swiss foundations to hold and transfer at least $200 million abroad while she held several public positions, including Metro Manila governor, minister of human settlements and member of the Batasang Pambansa.
The Supreme Court clarified that its ruling did not determine whether the financial transactions were legitimate. Instead, it found that prosecutors failed to satisfy the evidentiary requirements needed to sustain the criminal convictions.
Court questions evidence on Swiss foundations
The Supreme Court said prosecutors had to establish that the foundations operated as businesses covered under Section 3(h) and prove the relevant relationship between Marcos as a public officer and the alleged financial interests.
The Sandiganbayan had ruled that the foundations’ formal classification did not control because they allegedly maintained bank accounts, accepted deposits, transferred funds, earned interest and made investments for the Marcos family.
The Supreme Court rejected that reasoning, saying prosecutors carried the burden of proving that the foundations did not qualify as such under the applicable Swiss laws.
The high court also found that documents concerning the Swiss foundations had not been properly authenticated.
According to the decision, the Sandiganbayan incorrectly treated the Swiss documents as authenticated public records even though they constituted private documents that required proper authentication.
The court also found that prosecution witnesses lacked the competence to establish the authenticity and execution of the documents.
“In sum, the relevant Swiss documents were not properly authenticated,” the decision said.
The court added that even if the documents had met admissibility requirements, prosecutors still needed to establish their probative value and show that they actually proved the issues in dispute.
Case began in 1991
Prosecutors charged Marcos with graft in December 1991, several years after the Marcos family left the Philippines following the 1986 People Power Revolution.
Marcos surrendered and posted bail days after prosecutors filed the charges.
The cases focused on Swiss foundations established during the Marcos administration and the movement of money through foreign bank accounts. The Sandiganbayan eventually convicted Marcos on seven counts in 2018 after years of proceedings.
The antigraft court had earlier acquitted her in three other graft cases.
The Supreme Court said public interest cannot replace the evidentiary standards that apply to criminal proceedings.
Zalameda wrote that courts cannot disregard rules on the sufficiency and admissibility of evidence simply because a case involves public interest or broader demands for justice.
Marcos, now 97, has remained a significant figure in Philippine politics. Her son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., became president in 2022 more than three decades after the family left power.
The elder Marcos died in exile in 1989. The family later returned to the Philippines and rebuilt its political base, with Imelda Marcos eventually serving in Congress.
The Supreme Court also overturned a separate graft conviction against Marcos in 1993, reversing a 24-year prison sentence.
