Marcos jewelry priced 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.

The PCGG said the P1-billion value was based on the assessment of international auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s, which appraised the jewelry collections in November 2015.

The jewelry collections were originally estimated to be worth $5 million to $8 million, or as much as P376 million.

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).

The seized Marcos pieces of jewelry include luxury wristwatches such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Cartier.

Some pieces are from international jewelry makers such as Bulgari, Van Cleef and Arpels, and Bucellatti.

One of the most notable pieces is a rare 25-carat, briolette-cut pink diamond. ]

All collections are kept in the vaults of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).  

A report by Sandra Aguinaldo on GMA-7’s “24 Oras” said that Imelda Marcos refused to comment on PCGG’s update.

Her son, vice presidential aspirant Senator Bongbong Marcos, also previously refused to give his side since he does not know anything about jewelry. -Trisha Macas/NB, GMA News