MANILA – Palace said the proceeds of the public auction of P704.8-million jewelry seized from former First Lady Imelda Marcos will go to Filipinos who are in dire need of help.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo on Friday said Filipinos in need of urgent government assistance will benefit from the auction.
“The Chief Executive directs that the proceeds must reach our fellow countrymen who are in urgent need of governmental aid with dispatch,” Panelo said.
“The President is no respecter of friendship, political alliance, and filial relationship. The President decides on any national matter on the basis of the constitutional command to him to serve and protect the people,” he added.
Duterte gave a green light to the auction of P704.8-million worth of jewelry collection seized from Marcos.
“Sabi ni Presidente gusto niya na makinabang ang mga taong bayan dun sa mga jewelry. So tinanong ko siya, ‘are you going to give your go signal to sell?’ Yes. Basta ang kailangan makarating sa taumbayan ‘yung sale, ‘yung proceeds,” Panelo said.
However, Panelo did not give a timeline as to when the President will release the order authorizing the auction of the seized jewelry collections from the former first lady, which are currently kept in the vault of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
One of the seized jewelry, dubbed as “The Hawaii Collection” was apprehended from the family of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos as they fled to the United States in 1986 following his ouster in Feb. 1986.
The jewelries were part of the around P1-billion worth of assets seized from the Marcoses and their cronies yet to be disposed by the Presidential Commission on Good Government.
Other properties include real estate worth P336-million and shares of stock in various companies amounting to P40.35-million.
During his two-decade rule that started in 1965, Ferdinand Marcos oversaw a martial rule marked by serious human rights violations.
He supposedly managed to amass an estimated $5-billion to $10-billion from government coffers. /P
