Francisco Chavez vs. PCGG ( DIGEST ) 299 SCRA 744 ( G.R. No. 130716 ), December 9, 1998
Francisco Chavez vs. PCGG ( DIGEST ) 299 SCRA 744 ( G.R. No. 130716 ), December 9, 1998 FACTS: Petitioner Chavez, as taxpayer, citizen and former gov’t official, impelled to bring this action regarding several news reports on: (1) the alleged discovery of billions of dollars of Marcos assets deposited in various coded accounts in Swiss banks and (2) the reported execution of a compromise , between the government (through PCGG) and the Marcos heirs, on how to split or share these assets. Petitioner, invoking his constitutional right to information , demands that respondents make public any negotiations and agreements pertaining to PCGG’s task of recovering the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth. He claims that any compromise on the alleged billions of ill-gotten wealth involves an issue of paramount public interest , since it has a “debilitating effect on the country’s economy” that would be greatly prejudicial to the national interest of the F...