MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Presidential Commission on Good Government on Wednesday advised the incoming administration to work with the Marcos family in the recovery of the late dictator's ill-gotten wealth.

PCGG Commissioner Ricardo Abcede issued the unsolicited advice Wednesday, a week after admitting that he is exploring a settlement with the Marcoses and their cronies.

In an interview, Abcede congratulated members of the Marcos family for winning several electoral positions including a Senate seat for Ferdinand Marcos Jr., namesake of the late dictator.
The PCGG official also urged incoming president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and his team not to let vengeance and anger reign over the new administration.

"Justice has a nice ring to it but what critics really want is blood, revenge," he said.

Abcede said the Marcos family is willing to work with allies in settling the ill-gotten wealth cases. He said the government should adopt the same tack it used in negotiating peace with rebel groups in its own negotiations with the Marcoses.

"We should work with the Marcoses rather than engage them in endless fights," he added.

Abcede has come increasingly under fire for exploring a settlement with the Marcoses and their cronies, which critics say runs counter to the PCGG mandate to recover the ill-gotten wealth of the late dictator.

The PCGG has filed a total of 372 lawsuits against the Marcoses and recovered some P60 billion in ill-gotten wealth. At least P140-billion remaining ill-gotten assets may still be recovered by the government.