MANILA (UPDATED) - The United States (US) turned over a cheque in the amount of US$132,000 to the Philippine government representing the proceeds of a forfeiture sale of a property belonging to the Ligot family in Buena Park, California.

U.S. Ambassador to the Philipppines Harry Thomas personally turned over the cheque to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima Thursday morning.

"Today, I'm pleased to announce the first ever return of funds in an asset forfeiture case where the United States government is returning  $132,000 to the Philippine government. This was a result of a 2009 request for a real estate transaction of assets belonging to the wife of former (AFP) comptroller Jacinto Ligot," Thomas said.

The property, located at 7102 Stanton Avenue, Buena Park, California, was registered in the name of the former military comptroller's wife, Erlinda. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said the property was purchased by Mrs. Ligot on June 8, 2004 for US$599,500.

The DOJ formally requested the assistance of the US for the return to government coffers of the proceeds of the sale of said property under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between the two countries. This was part of efforts by the Philippine government to recover the unexplained wealth of the Ligots.

The MLAT is an agreement for the purpose of gathering and exchanging of information to enforce public and criminal laws.

The property was ordered forfeited after being subjected to administrative proceedings in the US and sold for US$132,000 in December 2005. The Office of the Ombudsman requested for the return of the proceeds through the DOJ, as Central Authority of the Republic of the Philippines under the MLAT.

Here in the Philippines, the Ligot couple is facing a P135.2-million forfeiture case before the Sandiganbayan, where their children, Paulo, Riza and Miguel; sister Miguela Ligot-Paragas; and brother-in-law Edgardo Yambao were named as co-defendants.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima expressed gratitude for the assistance of the US government in recovering the proceeds of the forfeiture sale.

"We, in the DOJ, are very pleased and honored by the trust and confidence they have manifested in turning over this amount to us. They can see that we are doing our best to break down the wall of inaction, impunity and injustice. Thus, we assure them and our people that their trust is well-placed and that this amount will promptly be turned over to the National Treasury, where it belongs," she said.

De Lima said this was a historic, landmark development for the MLAT between two countries being the first time for any foreign country "to return the proceeds of ill-gotten wealth and corruption."

More asset recoveries to follow

"This is only one case, one property and one cheque, but it marks a very auspicious event in our history and will hopefully be the beginning of more positive developments," she said.

"There are more developments to come in the area of asset recovery. This shows that the mechanism of the MLAT is an effective tool in the anti-corruption campaign of this government, especially in the area of asset recovery," she said.

Vote of confidence

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., meanwhile, thanked the US government for the turnover of forfeited assets of the Ligots.

"This vote of confidence in our government is a significant step toward the resolution of the case filed against former Armed Forces of the Philippines comptroller Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot and his wife Erlinda. We are hopeful that this will pave the way for further cooperation between our countries in this field as we step up initiatives to crack down on dirty money and double our efforts to recover ill-gotten wealth," he said.

The Ligots are also facing tax evasion charges filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue for their alleged failure to file their income tax returns for taxable years 2001-2004.