Marcos Ally Wins Round on Business Records
A longtime friend of former Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos has won a round against attempts by attorneys for two slain Seattle men to see his business records.
U.S. District Judge William Orrick ruled Wednesday that Dr. Leonilo Malabed may withhold some of his financial records from public examination.
He said some of the documents are the doctor’s personal records and thus protected by the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The order will hinder efforts by Marcos foes who want to prove that the physician provided a front for Marcos’ alleged covert operations in the United States, said Malabed’s attorney, Paul Couenhoven.
The attorneys for the two Seattle men, both outspoken Marcos critics, have accused Malabed of paying $15,000 to the three men convicted of the 1981 killings.
Malabed denies the allegation. The charge is based on a document that states Malabed’s defunct Mabuhay Corp. in San Francisco received and spent $1 million in Philippine intelligence funds. An expense sheet, seized from Marcos last February, included a $15,000 expenditure for a “special security project.”
As part of a federal lawsuit against the Marcos regime, the lawyers for the dead men asked Malabed to hand over all business documents and personal records.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
