Imelda R. Marcos was found guilty of corruption this morning and sentenced to 18 to 24 years in prison. The conviction came seven years after she and her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, were hounded out of the Philippines in a popular uprising.
Mrs. Marcos clutched a rosary as her sentence was read in a special anti-corruption court. Outside the packed courtroom, crowds of her supporters held a vigil; opposite them, hundreds of anti-Marcos protesters cheered the former First Lady's conviction.
Mrs. Marcos was set free on bail. Her lawyer said the conviction, her first, would be appealed to the Supreme Court, where he was confident it would be overturned.
The sentence includes her permanent disqualification from public office. Mrs. Marcos ran for president last year but lost. 100 More Charges Remain
Mrs. Marcos and a former Transporation Minister, Jose Dans, were accused of entering into three "unfavorable" lease contracts between a Government-run transportation agency and a public hospital.
Mrs. Marcos said she had used the money from the lease to finance hospital improvements. Government lawyers did not contest her claim, but said the Government had lost nearly $1 million in the deal.
Mrs. Marcos is facing more than 100 other corruption charges in Philippine courts. Several cases involve $350 million allegedly held by the Marcoses in Swiss banks. The Swiss federal tribunal ruled in December 1990 that the money would be returned to Manila only if a Philippine court convicted Mrs. Marcos in a fair trial. The Government estimates the Marcos family's wealth to be $5 billion. Pursuit Likely to Continue
Although this conviction is not linked to the Swiss cases, it is seen as a signal of President Fidel V. Ramos's commitment to pursue charges against the Marcoses and their associates. Mr. Ramos, a former general and longtime Marcos ally, led the military-backed popular uprising that ousted Mr. Marcos.
Mr. Ramos's predecessor, Corazon C. Aquino, was accused of lacking the political will to pursue the Marcoses.
A former Senator, Jovito Salongo, who once led a Government commission seeking to recover the wealth accrued by the Marcoses and their cronies, said, "This conviction will convey the message to the outside world that we are now beginning to take these cases seriously, that there are some of us that cannot be bought or influenced, that we know the difference between right and wrong."
