​Former political prisoners denounce US Supreme Court’s decision on transfer of US$40 million Arelma account to PH gov’t

[KARAPATAN Public Information]

PRESS RELEASE
November 21, 2025

Reference: Bonifacio Ilagan, SELDA Spokesperson

Former political prisoners denounce US Supreme Court’s decision on transfer of US$40 million Arelma account to PH gov’t

SELDA, an organization of former political prisoners since Marcos’ martial law, assailed the latest decision by the United States Supreme Court allowing the Philippine government to have control over US$40 million (or Php 2.4 billion) in Marcos ill-gotten funds now being held by Merril Lynch, an American investment management firm.

The funds, originally worth US$2 million when deposited by Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1972, had already been declared by both US and Philippine courts as part of the Marcoses’ stolen wealth. The forfeited asset was held in a Merill Lynch account by Marcos Sr. under the name of a Panamanian shell company, Arelma, Inc. The US Supreme Court decision supports the Philippine government’s claim over the monies, as opposed to claims for reparations from victims of human rights violations under martial law. Martial law victims won a US$2 billion civil suit against the Marcos estate in 1992 but only a portion of this amount has so far been distributed as reparations to some of the victims.

“Granting the Marcos Jr. government control over this US$40-million account is tantamount to declaring that the funds are completely off-limits to martial law victims,” said SELDA spokesperson Bonifacio Ilagan. “Who can logically expect Marcos Jr. to compensate his father’s victims, when he himself denies any wrongdoing committed by his family?”

“More ominously,” said Ilagan, “decisions such as this form a sinister pattern of dismissing ill-gotten wealth cases against the Marcoses. Ever since Marcos Jr. came to power, his family has been recouping their ill-gotten assets sequestered under previous governments. I would not be surprised if this latest US Supreme Court ruling forms part of an ‘arrangement’ with the Trump administration to favor its loyal puppet Marcos Jr.’

“We were tortured, detained, and treated as if our lives had no value. If these funds vanish into government coffers without helping victims, then the system is repeating the same injustice we fought to survive,” he said.

“My sister Rizalina was disappeared in 1977 and never came home. For decades, we searched for truth while Marcos billions moved around the world. These funds are not abstract numbers—they are tied to our pain, our stolen years, and our loved ones who never returned.”

“Nonetheless,” stressed Ilagan, “SELDA and other victims of human rights violations under martial law will continue to fight for justice and accountability and assert the indemnification of victims.”

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