Philippines to sell Imelda Marcos's 'ill-gotten' jewels, worth millions

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Philippine government has approved the auction of former first lady Imelda Marcos' jewelry collection -- worth approximately $21 million in total.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There are three collections, each boasting a dazzling array of different jewels and precious stones.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4cFpFvaz8M8PG65wnxkNP29l-99i4WawZanRIS6RhfRwXRl7N-UsawmBX4FJEM2CCv0oLGeJ0pVKjKAybUfD242bi36QqtA6wc6M4y6rcNvlcPO2AWBDm92A3jQ_vbKCLUcbLS-MQg_c/s1600/stly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu4cFpFvaz8M8PG65wnxkNP29l-99i4WawZanRIS6RhfRwXRl7N-UsawmBX4FJEM2CCv0oLGeJ0pVKjKAybUfD242bi36QqtA6wc6M4y6rcNvlcPO2AWBDm92A3jQ_vbKCLUcbLS-MQg_c/s320/stly.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"></span><br /> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Two of these are still being contested in court, but the Hawaii collection -- seized by US Customs when the family arrived in Hawaii after being overthrown in 1986 -- is now up for sale on the international market.</span></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The piece de resistance in the Hawaii collection is a rare 25-carat pink diamond, said to be the size of a grape and worth approximately $5 million. The collection also includes a Cartier diamond tiara, revalued in November, and discovered to be worth up to 10 times the initial estimates of $50,000.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Not just jewelry</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The jewels, which have deep historical and political significance in the Philippines, will be publicly exhibited prior to auction.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"The collection is a critical part of the past," said Richard T. Amurao, Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), the agency tasked with recovering the Marcos family fortune.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"We believe that the exhibition of these ill-gotten jewels will be a great vehicle to raise awareness -- especially for the younger generation and those who have forgotten -- and to remind the Filipino people of the perils of the two-decade regime of corruption that was under the Marcoses," he said.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The PCGG wants all three collections, amounting to 300 pieces, to be auctioned before President Benigno Aquino III steps down next year.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">According to the agency, this has nothing to do with the increasing popularity in the polls of Imelda and Ferdinand's son, Ferdinand Marcos Junior.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"We're just exercising our mandate. In fact, more for us that it's been such a long time so maybe we should hurry it up," said PCGG Commissioner Andrew De Castro. "Plans for this were made even before Senator Marcos declared his intention to run."</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Marcoses were accused of stealing billions of dollars from the Filipino people during Ferdinand's presidency. Imelda was renowned for her lavish spending. She is probably best known for her extensive shoe collection. When her husband was ousted she reportedly had to leave more than 1,200 pairs behind.</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Post Credit: <b><i>Cnn</i></b></span></div> </div>

Philippines to sell Imelda Marcos's 'ill-gotten' jewels, worth millions

The Philippine government has approved the auction of former first lady Imelda Marcos' jewelry collection -- worth approximately $21 m...

Read more »