Page 1 - Hello Philippines February 2016 'B' issue

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MARCOS JEWELRY PRICEDGOV’T OKAYS SALE OF HAWAII GEMS AT P1 BILLION
THE three collections of jewelry
seized from the Marcos family have
been collectively appraised at P1
billion, the Presidential Commission
on Good Government announced on
Friday.
In a statement, the PCGG said
the amount was “a conservative
estimate.”
The PCGG also announced that
the Privatization Council, headed by
the Department of Finance (DOF),
approved the proposed sale of the
Hawaii collection in the international
market.
“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,”
PCGG chairman Richard Amurao
said in a statement.
However, the PCGG plans to
first put on display a portion of the
jewelry collections to “inform the
Filipino people of the excesses of the
Marcos dictatorship”.
“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,” Amurao said.
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The PCGG said the P1-billion
value was based on the assessment The seized Marcos pieces of One of the most notable pieces is Marcos refused to comment on
of international auction houses jewelry include luxury wristwatches a rare 25-carat, briolette-cut pink PCGG’s update.
Christie’s and Sotheby’s, which such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, and diamond.
appraised the jewelry collections in Cartier. Her son, vice presidential aspirant
November 2015. All collections are kept in the Senator Bongbong Marcos, also
Some pieces are from vaults of the Bangko Sentral ng previously refused to give his side
The jewelry collections were international jewelry makers such Pilipinas (BSP). since he does not know anything
originally estimated to be worth $5 as Bulgari, Van Cleef and Arpels, about jewelry. n Trisha Macas / NB, GMA
million to $8 million, or as much as and Bucellatti. A report by Sandra Aguinaldo on
P376 million. GMA-7’s “24 Oras” said that Imelda News / Published / February 12, 2016 / 9:30 pm
But the reports said that the value
of the items siginificantly increased.
Further gemological testing on
significant items will be conducted
for a more accurate estimate, PCGG
said.
There are three separate
collections comprising the Marcos
jewels:
• The Malacañang collection is
composed of pieces the Marcoses
family left behind when they fled
during the 1986 EDSA People Power
Revolution, currently under the
custody of the Office of the President;
• The Hawaii collection was found
in the Marcos family’s luggage when
they arrived in Hawaii in 1986, now
under the custody of the PCGG;
• The Roumeliotes collection
was seized from Greek national
Demetriou Roumeliotes—believed
to have links to former First Lady
Imelda Marcos—when he was about
to leave the Philippines also in 1986,
confiscated by the Bureau of Customs
(BOC).