Victims of human rights abuses under the rule of late Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos have been blocked from seeking at least $35 million once held in a New York-based Merrill Lynch account.
In a 4-1 ruling, a panel of the Appellate Division, 1st Department, allowed the Philippine National Bank and Arelma, a Panamanian entity created by Marcos, to intervene in the turnover proceeding brought by the 10,000-member class, and agreed with their argument that the case should be dismissed because two essential entities, the Republic of the Philippines and the Presidential Commission on Good Government, have refused to come into court.
