Aquino Will Control Marcos-Linked Project : U.S. Courts to Decide on Ex-Leader’s Assets

The Reagan Administration, attempting to divest itself of the dilemma posed by the currency, jewelry and other wealth brought to the United States by former Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos, said Thursday that it is tossing the issue to the federal courts.

The result promises to be a long, drawn-out legal battle between an increasingly testy Marcos and the new government of President Corazon Aquino--a battle some officials fear could become a long-term and divisive issue in U.S.-Philippine relations.

So far, State Department officials said, they have heard no complaints from the Aquino government about their handling of the issue. “We have said that we are going to cooperate with them and be as helpful as we can, and I think they understand that,” spokesman Daniel Howard said.

May Take Years

But American lawyers for the Aquino government, which argues that the Marcos family looted the Philippines of $10 billion during its 20-year reign, said the process adopted by the U.S. government could mean that it will take years to determine the ownership of the Marcos cargo still held by the U.S. Customs Service in Hawaii.

Other lawyers warned that unraveling the complex web of dummy corporations and financial arrangements behind which Marcos may hide his alleged riches will be no easy task. One noted, however, that Marcos’ former office will do him little good if U.S. courts can be shown that he’s “no more than a common thief.”

White House spokesman Larry Speakes said that Marcos has been given no immunity from being sued or prosecuted while he is in the United States. He said any attempt by the Philippine government to seize Marcos’ assets or seek his extradition “would be a legal matter, and certainly we would abide by the law.”

Lawyers for Marcos, who is reported to be increasingly irritated at the flurry of challenges in the courts, formally applied to the Customs Service on Thursday for the release of his wealth, which is being held in a government warehouse in Hawaii.

The Aquino government has asked a federal court in Honolulu to seize an estimated $1.2 million in newly printed Philippine pesos that followed Marcos and his entourage into exile last week on a cargo plane provided by the U.S. Air Force. The fleeing Filipinos also reportedly carried millions of dollars worth of gold, jewels and other valuables, as well as documents detailing real estate holdings and other investments.

U.S. an ‘Interpleader’

The Administration is asking the courts to take the problem out of its hands and to decide between the conflicting claims to the property. The procedure is known in legal circles as an “interpleader.”

“This represents the application of a standard practice that is being applied to an unusual case,” Speakes said. “It should not be the role of the U.S. Customs to settle jurisdiction. Their job is to enforce the law.”

Lawyers said the procedure offers the advantage of providing a convenient, neutral legal forum for settling what promises to be a complex and hard-fought dispute--and avoids some problems that may arise in efforts by the Aquino government to recover Marcos assets in other cases.

“This is a good way to resolve this dispute,” said James A. Jones, professor of international law at George Washington University. “This makes it a case of legal rights rather than political decisions.”

Attorneys Express Concern

But American attorneys representing the Philippine government, while welcoming any opportunity to press their case against Marcos, expressed concern about the process.

“This could take two years, and that’s a killer,” said Michael Ratner, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, a nonprofit group in New York that is representing the Aquino government.

Another spokesman for the center, David Lerner, said he fears the process will delay the Philippine government’s access to Marcos’ financial records--which are the key to its attempts to claim ownership of the former president’s huge real estate holdings in New York, California and other states.

“The pesos are nothing,” Lerner said. “The valuable property is the documents. What we want are the books and ledgers.”

Ratner urged Congress to adopt legislation that would further ease the way for the Aquino government to make a direct claim against Marcos in federal courts. Rep. Stephen J. Solarz (D-N.Y.) plans to introduce such a bill.

Several experts said that the Aquino government can win its struggle for Marcos’ assets if it can prove his wealth was improperly obtained.

Difficult, Not Impossible

“It’s going to be difficult but certainly far from impossible,” said Seymour Rubin, senior consultant to the American Society of International Law. “There would seem to be a very good chance of recovery of any assets, at least, that are not squirreled away in a Swiss bank account. On its face, this appears to be a case in which Mr. Marcos has looted this property and if that’s true, he’s no better than a common thief.”

Legal authorities said the Philippine government also could ask Philippine courts for a monetary judgment against Marcos that the government would ask U.S. courts to enforce against property Marcos holds in the United States. Or the government could bring a similar action directly in U.S. courts.

Whatever legal routes are taken, lawyers for the Philippines will be faced with the formidable task of tracing financial transactions in two countries and showing that funds or property now in this country in fact belong to Marcos.

“It may be tough to establish what property was in the Philippines, what’s here now and then trace it to Marcos,” said Prof. Christopher L. Blakesley of the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. “But if these evidentiary problems are resolved, there would be no particular obstacle to recovery if he stole property or plundered the nation.”

Possible Marcos Arguments

Marcos, experts point out, might well contend that any such property was properly acquired. He might also argue that his actions are beyond court jurisdiction because he acted as a head of state. But Rubin noted that personal actions by a head of government fall within court jurisdiction.

The Center for Constitutional Rights has retained lawyers in Honolulu, San Francisco and Newark, N.J., to assist in the search for Marcos’ U.S. investments and properties.

“We’re starting now to look at the cronies,” Lerner, the spokesman for the center, said Thursday. “There will be a separate slew of lawsuits against the cronies.”

Attorney Clive Cummis in Newark said Thursday that he expects to go to court early next week to seek a restraining order preventing the sale or transfer of a 13-acre estate in Princeton, N.J., that is owned by an offshore corporation linked to the Marcoses.

Franklin Siegel, a Manhattan lawyer who has joined the center as a volunteer on the Marcos case, said the lawyers also are reviewing new clues and evidence from Filipinos across the country who have called with tips about Marcos’ purported investments and holdings.

Center attorney Morton Stavis said the group also is considering retaining a lawyer in Texas to investigate reports that Marcos may own up to 5,000 acres of undeveloped land worth more than $13 million there.

Times staff writer Bob Drogin contributed to this story from New York.