PCGG: Marcos jewelry still interests buyers despite legal obstacles

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) said pieces of jewelry confiscated from former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos have not yet lost their luster for international auctioneers and possible wealthy buyers from abroad.

Lawyer Ricardo Abcede, the PCGG commissioner handling asset management and who is spearheading an effort to auction the Marcos jewelry to raise funds for the government, said while the government has repeatedly failed to hold an auction for the past several years, international auction houses that they may tap to do the auction have not lost interest.

“Once we clear all the possible legal obstacles or other requirements, we’re confident that they are ready to come to us and do the appraisal and the auctioning,” Abcede told The Star in an interview last Friday.

“As I said before, they are interested in the Imelda jewels because of their history and not necessarily for their value.”

Abcede said if value was to be considered, there were other jewels being auctioned abroad that are more valuable in terms of gem quality and provenance, “such as those worn by czars, emperors and empresses. But these Imelda jewels, their history is that she bought these collections during a time of want. That’s how other people look at them.”

Abcede said that he sees it as his job to stoke interest in the Imelda jewels so that they can fetch good prices in an auction for the benefit of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

The Imelda jewels are made up of the Malacañang, the Hawaii, and the Roumeliotes collections.

Abcede said the Malacañang collection is made up of the jewels left by the Marcoses in the Palace when they fled the country at the height of the EDSA People Power revolt in February 1986.

The Hawaii collection jewels are those seized from Imelda by Customs authorities when the family arrived there after fleeing the Philippines.

The Roumeliotes collection are the jewels seized from a Greek courier of the Marcoses who attempted to smuggle a portion of the Marcos jewels out of the country in 1986.

The PCGG held a public display of all the jewels in September 2005, which led to their appraisal by auctioneers who placed their value at P15 billion in 2006.

Abcede said the display of the jewels before the auction would generate interest from abroad and could even lure tourists into the country.