The Supreme Court in the Philippines has issued a temporary restraining order against a lower court's ruling for the Philippine National Bank (PNB) to turn over to the government a US$4.4-million letter of credit (L/C).

The L/C is allegedly part of the ill-gotten gains of the country's former president, the late Ferdinand Marcos and his family.

Court orders

The temporary restraining order responded to a petition from the PNB that sought to nullify a November ruling handed down by the Sandiganbayan for the bank to hand over the L/C.

The Sandiganbayan is the court established in the Philippines with jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft, corrupt practices and offences committed by public officers and employees.

Bank instructions

The L/C in question was issued to alleged Marcos crony Vicente Chuidian and was issued in the early 1980s for a now bankrupt Chuidian company.

The PNB has argued that the L/C expired long ago and the bank says it wants Chuidian to first present the document to the bank before releasing the US$4.4 million, conditions that Chuidian could not apparently understand or comply with.

While it temporarily stopped the Sandiganbayan order, the higher court ordered PNB to post a surety bond of around US$25,000 within five days from receipt of its ruling.

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