President Rodrigo Duterte does not need any new law or authority from the Congress to negotiate for the return of any or all the hidden wealth of the Marcoses.

The President of the Republic has the continuing principal authority under existing law to recover the Marcos ill-gotten hoard with the assistance of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).

The PCGG, which was created by the late President Corazon Aquino under Executive Order No. 1 on February 28, 1986, is “charged with the task of assisting the President” in “the recovery of all ill-gotten wealth accumulated by former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, his immediate family, relatives, subordinates and close associates, whether located in the Philippines or abroad”.

Under Executive Order No. 1, the President can also cause the investigation of the cases of graft and corruption which he may assign to the PCGG.

Moreover, the President even on his own accord can negotiate the surrender of the ill-gotten hoard in the same manner that he can negotiate for the surrender of a high profile suspected criminal without any act of the Congress.

However, the unwritten rule in the projected negotiation must conform to transparency, accountability and no conditionality.

But why involve the Congress in a negotiation where the Marcos heirs are at best ambivalent and which may not even prosper beyond propaganda?

EDCEL C. LAGMAN