Philippines may auction Marcos jewels in Manila

MANILA – The Philippines may auction millions of dollars’ worth of jewellery confiscated from Imelda Marcos, its former first lady, in Manila next March, a government official said yesterday.

Officials had previously said they hoped to put the jewellery up for sale in Geneva in November or in New York next year. “We are thinking of possibly auctioning these here in the Philippines,” Ricardo Abcede, a commissioner with the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), told reporters.”It could also draw in more people from abroad who would want to buy some of the Marcos jewels or would only be curious to see the three collections.”Abcede said the cash-strapped government could generate much-needed taxes if the sale was conducted at home.The PCGG is the state agency responsible for recovering up to US$10 billion that late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda, 76, are accused of illegally amassing during his two-decade rule from 1965.Imelda, who faces dozens of criminal and civil cases but has never been convicted, filed an injunction at a Manila court last week seeking to block the sale of one of the three sets of gems.They were seized separately, one at the presidential palace, another from a Greek man at Manila airport and the third by US customs agents in Hawaii in 1986 as Marcos and his family fled a popular revolt at home for exile in the United States.Media reports have said the jewellery, which includes tiaras, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, watches and other items studded with diamonds, rubies and pearls, is worth up to US$20 million.- Nampa-Reuters”We are thinking of possibly auctioning these here in the Philippines,” Ricardo Abcede, a commissioner with the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), told reporters.”It could also draw in more people from abroad who would want to buy some of the Marcos jewels or would only be curious to see the three collections.”Abcede said the cash-strapped government could generate much-needed taxes if the sale was conducted at home.The PCGG is the state agency responsible for recovering up to US$10 billion that late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda, 76, are accused of illegally amassing during his two-decade rule from 1965.Imelda, who faces dozens of criminal and civil cases but has never been convicted, filed an injunction at a Manila court last week seeking to block the sale of one of the three sets of gems.They were seized separately, one at the presidential palace, another from a Greek man at Manila airport and the third by US customs agents in Hawaii in 1986 as Marcos and his family fled a popular revolt at home for exile in the United States.Media reports have said the jewellery, which includes tiaras, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, watches and other items studded with diamonds, rubies and pearls, is worth up to US$20 million.- Nampa-Reuters