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"Operation Big Bird" was an attempt of the Philippine government to recover the alleged, alleged US$7.5 billion in bank accounts and assets of the late President Marcos and his family in Swiss banks. This operation was conceived of by Filipino investment banker Michael de Guzman, then Chairman/President of Credit Manila, who was engaged in offshore banking and peso-dollar denominated bonds.


"Operation Big Bird" is based on two different reports of House of Representatives member Victorio "Concoy" Chaves of Misamis Oriental, and then-Senator Jovito Salonga, who was the first chairman of the Philippine Commission on Good Government, (PCGG) tasked by then President Cory to recover the alleged hidden and ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses.


Chaves laid the blame on Salonga, the late Solicitor General Sedfrey Ordoñez and Swiss bank lawyers. Salonga countered that Ordoñez had prevented the Philippine government from losing a large sum of money. But, evidence suggested that de Guzman acted in good faith on behalf of the new government, even as betrayal and double cross may have been present.

The late vice president Salvador "Doy" Laurel of the Cory Aquino administration called "Operation Big Bird" the biggest failure of the administration.


I'm relating the facts and circumstances of the operation in the wake of the relentless and determined efforts of the PCGG, then under its Chairman, Dean Andy Bautista, to recover the hidden and ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. 


I'm narrating the "Operation Big Bird" story, of which I was somewhat privy to since I was consultant then of Credit Manila and Michael de Guzman.


In fact, Chaves, chairman of the House Committee on Good government, which was then investigating "Operation Big Bird," with members, the late Representative Jose Roño, who deputy to Cesar Virata, then head of the Marcos Parliament, and then Taguig Representative Dante Tinga (who later became Supreme Court Associate justice), sought me out at the Manila Peninsula to find out what I knew about the operation. That was before they went to Switzerland to conduct a fact-finding mission.


The Chaves committee filed a detailed report, which unfortunately was never taken up in Congress because the late Speaker Ramon Mitra, who was aiming for the presidency in 1992, archived the Chaves report. It was said that at that time, Mitra was courting the endorsement of President Cory and since the Chaves Report was derogatory to the Cory Aquino administration, it was never made public.


With all its twists and turns, double cross and betrayals, the "Operation Big Bird" saga could well compare to the Bourne movie series. Some say that somebody should make it a movie.


In any case, "Operation Big Bird" began when de Guzman got in touch with the Aquino administration and offered his services to recover the Marcos' wealth in various banks in Switzerland and other countries. De Guzman was then put in touch with then Brigadier General Jose T. Almonte, who was chief of the EIB or Enforcement and Intelligence Bureau, and then Mayor Charlie Avila, who was reportedly close to the Cojuangcos.


The banks, financial institutions and other companies and institutions that reportedly dealt with the Marcos wealth and assets were held in various countries, namely: Switzerland, Liechtenstein (for foundation) Austria, Cayman Islands, Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides), United Kingdom, HongKong, United States, Panama (for trust companies and real estate), Monaco, Bahamas, Vatican City and Netherlands Antilles.


Sometime in 1982, De Guzman established operations in Vienna with the incorporation of Exportfinanzierungsbank, GmBH. And sometime in 1985, Mike de Guzman made his acquaintance with Victor Bou Dagher in Vienna, a Lebaneses national residing in Austria, who had some connections and acquaintances in the European banking network. Obviously, even at that time De Guzman was already making preparations for the recovery of the Marcos' wealth and assets.


Then came People Power Revolution of 1986 which brought the downfall of President Marcos, after which Marcos and his family were taken by a US Air Force helicopter from the PSG compound across the Pasig River from Malacañang, and brought to Clark Air Base. The next day, they were flown to Guam and then to Hawaii.



On March 1, 1986, De Guzman returned to Vienna and met with Dagher. De Guzman briefed Dagher about the recent events in the Philippines, after which De Guzman began to take action on how to transfer the Marcos money from the Swiss banks to his bank in Vienna. The next day, de Guzman and Dagher flew to Lebanon via Cyprus to meet with some influential contacts in the European banking industry - Beirut being the banking capital of the Mediterranean basin.


Thereafter, De Guzman finally was able to get through with General Almonte, who had been tied down with the recent changes in the government after his role in the Edsa Revolution, particularly the Reform the Armed Forces Movement. Almonte informed De Guzman that he (De Guzman) needed to get back to Manila to recommend him to President Aquino for an appointment in the new government.


Subsequently, De Guzman and Dagher met with bankers, who gave him an idea on how Iran was able to recover the frozen assets of the abdicated Shah in Switzerland. De Guzman was told by the bankers that the Swiss banks will be moving the Marcos money to various financial institutions to safeguard the deposits and avoid a massive withdrawal, which the bankers alleged was the dark practice of the Swiss banking system even in little affairs such as marital divorce.


This brought forth the idea that De Guzman should go to Hawaii and meet with the Marcoses to get a Power of Attorney to withdraw the money in their behalf before the banks closed in on the accounts. De Guzman said that he had no intimate associations with the Marcos, but his only contact could be Colonel Irwin Ver, his compadre, and former PSG commanding officer and son of then Chief of Staff Fabian Ver. It was here where De Guzman and his associates started calling the plan "Operation Big Bird."


I narrate these facts for those who would want to know about the biggest failure of the Cory government in recovering the reported US$7.5-billion wealth of the Marcoses.


The scheme, called "Operation Big Bird," was conceived of by investment banker Michael de Guzman, chairman of Credit Manila. It was actually a plan to recover the hidden and ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. Because of betrayals and double-crosses, however, the plan failed. 


De Guzman was told by his Swiss banking contacts that because of the intricate Swiss banking system, the best way for De Guzman to get hold of the Swiss accounts of the Marcoses was to get a Power of Attorney from the Marcoses to enable him to withdraw from these accounts.


Thus, on March 18, 1986 De Guzman and his Lebanese contact, Victor Bou Dahar (an expert on recovering hidden wealth in Swiss banks) went to Honolulu. Since De Guzman did not know the Marcoses personally, they met with Colonel Irwin Ver, son of General Fabian Ver.


After their first meeting with the Vers, De Guzman and Dagher raised the subject of unfreezing Marcos' accounts by the Swiss banks. President Cory Aquino had promulgated Executive Order No. 2 freezing all Marcos assets in the Philippines. To make a long story short, De Guzman was able to convince the elder Ver that he (De Guzman) meet with the Marcoses. Thus, Irwin Ver confirmed that a meeting had been arranged with the Marcoses - President Marcos, Imelda and Bongbong.


At their meeting, De Guzman shared the news that the Swiss banks will make a move on their accounts. Marcos wanted to confirm the information and sent Bongbong and De Guzman around 10 p.m. Honolulu time to the Honolulu International Airport to call their personal banker in Credit Suisse, Ernst Scheller. The Marcoses were wary that their phones were being tapped.


When they returned to Marcos and Imelda, De Guzman received a note from Imelda stating "Palmy Foundation" and a plastic bag containing travelers' checks worth US$300,000.


When De Guzman met again with Colonel Ver, the latter handed De Guzman an Allied Bank Hong Kong cashier's check worth US$150,000 and requested the bank to clear the check and send the money back. It was reported that De Guzman later admitted during the House of Representatives' investigation of "OBB" that he didn't intend to return the money, but to use it to fund the operation.


Imelda then produced a Power of Attorney for De Guzman and tasked Bongbong to give it De Guzman. Bongbong is reported to have oriented De Guzman on their contact at Credit Suisse, Ernst Scheller, and told De Guzman and Dagher to get in touch with Scheller once they entered Switzerland.


De Guzman and Dagher then met with Marcos lawyer, Scheller and presented the Power of Attorney. Scheller informed De Guzman and Dagher that the Swiss authorities had put a "freeze order" on all the Marcos accounts, but failed to produce any formal documentation on it. Scheller reportedly even mentioned that he re-documented the record already and moved the accounts as instructed by Ms. Fe Gimenez, Marcos' personal secretary.


De Guzman suspected Scheller of stalling the transfer order to protect the interests of Credit Suisse, not the Marcoses.


Scheller informed the Swiss Federal Banking Commission that De Guzman was trying to transfer US$213 million to Vienna. 


Consequently, the Banking Commission made an unprecedented move to immediately freeze all the Marcos accounts. This act was questioned later because the Banking Commission had no authority to freeze bank accounts. The Swiss Federal Council, taking note of the confusion created by the Banking Commission freeze order, formalized the order in anticipation of the new Philippine government's claim.


President Cory welcomed the order and the PCGG hired three prominent Swiss lawyers, Sergio Salvioni, Guy Fontanet and Moritz Leuenberger to handle the case.


De Guzman attempted once more to unfreeze the Marcos accounts, but Scheller said that the freeze order was still effect. When De Guzman called Almonte, who was then in Manila, Almonte informed De Guzman that some people around President Cory had suspicions about De Guzman as having a reputation of being an associate of Danding Cojuangco. This led De Guzman to return to Manila to present "Operation Big Bird" to President Cory while he still had the Power of Attorney of the Marcoses.


Back in Manila, Almonte arranged a meeting between De Guzman and then Representative Peping Cojuangco of Tarlac, brother of the President. In that meeting, De Guzman offered to help the Cory government recover the Marcos wealth. De Guzman would be getting 20 percent of the recovered accounts.


De Guzman identified accounts in Credit Suisse amounting to US$213 million and all foundations that held a total of US$4.5 billion in deposits in nine different banks with additional US$3 billion in precious metals and securities on deposit, or a tentative total of US$7.5 billion. And most of all, De Guzman still had the Power of Attorney from the Marcoses. It was this point when Peping Cojuangco arranged a meeting between De Guzman and Salonga.


Salonga refused to meet with De Guzman and instead directed PCGG Commissioner Raul Daza to meet with De Guzman. Daza was briefed about the operation and soon was ready to go to Vienna. But, to De Guzman's surprise, Salonga told Daza to stay in Manila. Having no other recourse, De Guzman requested Salonga to introduce him to Philippine Ambassador to Switzerland Luis Ascalon. Congressman Peping Cojuangco was informed of Salonga's actions.


De Guzman convinced Almonte to go with him to Switzerland to give his mission an official imprimatur. PCGG Swiss lawyer, Dr. Salvioni advised De Guzman and Almonte that any request for the withdrawal of Marcos accounts must be signed by the solicitor general of the Philippines.


Having lost so many days on the run-around given to De Guzman and Almonte of how to withdraw the US$213 million from Credit Suisse, De Guzman and Almonte flew back to Manila hurriedly to inform the President's brother Rep. Cojuangco of the situation telling him that if DBB could not withdraw the Marcos money, the entire operation would fail. Congressman Cojuangco then met with his older brother Pedro Cojuangco, who then presented the plan to the President. To make the story short, President Cory approved the plan, and De Guzman appointed Ordoñez, Almonte and then Ambassador to Moscow, former Marcos Executive Secretary Alex Melchor as members of De Guzman's bank in Vienna to assure the transfer of the initial Marcos accounts of US213 million.


But, on the day and the time De Guzman and Almonte were supposed to meet with bank officials and bankers, Ordoñez suddenly was nowhere to be found. It was reported that Ordoñez made a turnaround for fear that the money to be deposited at the Exportfinanzierrungsbank of De Guzman would be diverted from Vienna to a Marcos-favored bank. The Swiss lawyers hired by Salonga and the PCGG had briefed Ordoñez on the credibility of De Guzman. Ordoñez was reported to have instructed the PCGG Swiss lawyers instead direct transfer of the monies to a new destination, a newly-opened account of the Philippine government.

Operation Big Bird: The mystery behind the PCGG's failed recovery of alledged Marcos Swiss bank accounts