SC dismisses Imelda Marcos graft case

The Supreme Court tossed out a graft case against former first lady Imelda Marcos that had languished in the courts for years, documents released on Wednesday show.

Marcos, 97, fled to the United States in 1986 with husband Ferdinand Marcos, who, along with his cronies, was accused of pilfering $10 billion from the Philippines after a people's uprising ended his 20-year rule.

The former dictator died in 1989 while still in exile, but his heirs later returned to the country, allowing Imelda to see son Ferdinand Marcos Jr. become the country's president in 2022.  

The 2018 verdict from the anti-graft Sandiganbayan court had ordered her to serve a minimum of six years behind bars over charges that the Marcoses funnelled roughly $200 million through Swiss foundations decades ago.

The former first lady, famed for her lavish lifestyle, swiftly filed an appeal.

On Wednesday, court documents revealed the Supreme Court dismissed the case more than two months ago.

"In sum, the relevant Swiss documents were not properly authenticated," the court said in its ruling dated June 10.

"The prosecution was not able to present any credible witness who could have attested to the genuineness and due execution of the documents."

The case is not the first against Imelda Marcos to be overturned by the Supreme Court. 

In 1993, it overturned a 24-year jail sentence—also on graft charges. She went on to run for Congress and win while her appeal was underway.

The family's notoriety stems back to Ferdinand Marcos declaring martial law in 1972. That allowed him to shutter the legislature, muzzle the free press and jail or kill those who dared to oppose his dictatorship.

In the decades since Marcos's ouster, the effort to recover the pilfered money has been halting and uneven.