Gov't approves auction of Marcos jewelry valued at P1B

MANILA, Philippines - The Privatization Council has approved the auction of one of the three jewelry collections, collectively valued at least P1 billion, that were confiscated from the family of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

In a statement Friday, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) said the Council – headed by the Department of Finance – has approved for international auction the so-called Hawaii Collection, which is composed of around 300 pieces of jewelry and other luxury items.

The collection, under the jurisdiction of the PCGG, was seized from the Marcoses by the US Customs in Hawaii upon their arrival following the EDSA People Power Revolution.

It was later forfeited in favor of the Philippine government by virtue of an agreement between former First Lady Imelda Marcos and the PCGG.

The collection includes an exceedingly rare 25-carat pink diamond, which appraisers said has an estimated value of around $5 million (around P235 million in current exchange rates).

“As the PCGG commemorates its 30th anniversary, the Commission remains unwavering in accomplishing its mandate of recovering all ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses and returning the same to its real owners,” PCGG Chair Richard Amurao said.

“We hope that the Filipino people will finally benefit from the proceeds of the collection. The jewelry confiscated from the Marcoses remain a singular manifestation of the misguided priorities of the Marcos presidency during his reign,” he added.

Amurao said part of the collection will be exhibited prior to its auction.

“It has been long desired by the PCGG to put the jewelry collection on public display to inform the Filipino people of the excesses of the Marcos dictatorship,” said the PCGG chief.

“The collection is a critical part of the past. We believe that the exhibit of these ill-gotten jewels will be a great vehicle to raise awareness, especially for the younger generation and those who have forgotten, to remind the Filipino people of the perils of the two-decade regime of corruption that was under the Marcoses,” added Amurao.

According to PCGG, conservative estimates put the value of the three collections at P1 billion.

In addition to the Hawaii collection, the jewelry collection is also composed of the so-called Roumeliotes and the Malacañang collections.

The Roumeliotes collection, composed of only around 60 pieces of jewelry but is deemed as the most expensive among the three, was seized from the alleged Marcos associate Demetriou Roumeliotes as he tried to smuggle it out of the country.

It was later forfeited in favor of the Bureau of Customs as the attempt to smuggle the jewelry out of the country is a violation of the Tariff and Customs Code.

Meanwhile, the Malacañang collection composed of over 400 luxury jewelry and other items that were left in Malacañang after People Power.

The Sandiganbayan declared in 2014 that the said collection is part of the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. The ruling is currently being appealed by the Marcoses at the Supreme Court.

Last year, the PCGG invited rival auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's to appraise the jewelry collections.

The agency said estimates submitted by the auction houses showed that collective value of the three collections is at least P1 billion.

Previous valuation of the three collections, made in the early 90s, put its value between $6 to $8 million (P282 million to P376 million in current exchange rates).

“The total estimated value of the thousands of pieces has significantly increased, some items increasing in value ten folds from previous appraisals,” said the agency.

“Further gemological testing on significant items is necessary for a more accurate estimate,” it added.

A breakdown of the valuation submitted by the two auction houses has yet to be released.

PCGG said it will soon release further details with regard to the plan to exhibit and auction the collection under its custody.