Marcos Estate To Pay Victims

The family of ousted Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos has agreed to pay $150 million to victims of abuse under his rule. The landmark agreement could lead to a broader settlement with the Philippine government, Marcos' son said Friday.

9,539 Filipinos won a class action lawsuit against the Marcos estate for the torture, summary execution, and the disappearance of dissidents during Marcos' 20-year rule.

"This is the first step," Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said in a radio interview. "Now that this has been accepted... we can start talking with the government."

President Joseph Estrada said he was "responsible for expediting" the deal through talks with the Marcos family. He has said he favors negotiations over protracted legal battles to recover the wealth. "This is one example showing that if we are able to make Mrs. Marcos and the government agree, it will be easier for us to get the money," Estrada said.

Robert Swift, the American lawyer for the Marcos' victims, described the settlement as "both historic and fair."

But Romeo Capulong, a lawyer for a large group of Marcos' victims, said they were not consulted on details of the agreement between Swift and the Marcos estate. "We will certainly repudiate and reject any settlement that would forgive, or condone or absolve the Marcos', and their cronies, of the crimes of plunder, and of the crimes of torture, disappearances and summary executions," he said in an interview with a local TV network.

The class action lawsuit was filed against Marcos in 1986. At the time he was residing in Hawaii and as such subject to being sued in a U.S. court.

Jurors awarded $1.9 billion to the plaintiffs, including $1.2 billion in punitive damages. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judgment in 1996, but the plaintiffs had trouble collecting money in foreign accounts with contested ownership.

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real gave preliminary approval to the new settlement Wednesday. A final hearing is set for April 14 in Hawaii, where the class action lawsuit was filed.

Filipino Presidential Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said Estrada will review the agreement and his final approval "is almost assured."

Marcos, ousted in a "people power" revolt in 1986, fled to Hawaii where he died in 1989. He denied any wrongdoing during his rule.