NEWSFLASH

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GET 4,000-HECTARE BENEDICTO FARM, SENATE ORDERS

Manila, Oct. 22, 1997 - The Senate will demand an explanation from the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) for the delay in taking over the 4,000-hectare property of Marcos associate Roberto Benedicto.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Ernesto Herrera said it has been six years since the PCGG signed a compromise deal with Benedicto, yet the property remains in his name.

"We want PCGG Chairman Magtanggol Gunigundo to explain the obstacles and to accelerate or fast-track the turnover," Herrera said.

The land in question is a sugar farm in Negros Occidental which was part of a controversial out-of-court settlement signed in Singapore by PCGG Chairman David Castro and Benedicto in 1991. The agreement stipulated the turnover of the farm and other properties in exchange for the dropping of charges against Benedicto.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Ernesto Garilao, whose office has plans for the land, claims that Benedicto's lawyers are the main cause of the delay as they constantly call for postponements of the hearings of cases involving the property.

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