PCGG padlocks Imelda mansion

TACLOBAN CITY – The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has finally padlocked the palatial residence and rest house belonging to the family of former First Lady Imelda Marcos in Tolosa, Leyte.

Twenty padlocks were put in place on all the doors of the two-storey, 14-room presidential guest house and the six-room rest house after a five-day inventory was concluded June 21 by PCGG Eastern Visayas personnel and the staff of Mrs. Marcos.

The mansion, located on a sprawling 42-hectare property, has been under sequestration for 15 years now and is believed to be part of the ill-gotten wealth of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos. The rest house was built for Marcos children and grandchildren.

"We padlocked the houses for security measures," PCGG regional director Renor Dauag told The STAR yesterday.

Cherry Cobarrubias, official spokeswoman for Mrs. Marcos, said it was "cruel" on the part of the PCGG to take such "drastic action, in the light of the healing process called by the Arroyo administration."

But Dauag said Mrs. Marcos can still be allowed to enter or use the property as long as she secures permission from either the PCGG regional or central office.

The official said he would be submitting the result of the inventory on the Marcos mansion to PCGG Commissioner Ruben Carranza next week.

PCGG acting chairman George Sarmiento ordered the inventory after Carranza, who is also the central office’s head of legal affairs, issued an eviction order on the former first lady.

Dauag said they did not include in the inventory Mrs. Marcos’ room, which reportedly contains her gowns, shoes and other expensive personal effects.

"We did not touch those items because they were her personal property," he said.

Included in the inventory, however, were the rooms containing the antique furniture, sculptures and carvings, paintings, porcelain jars and figurines.

The PCGG also locked the gate leading to the main building, which houses a gymnasium containing hundreds of memorabilia and pictures of the former first couple.

Mrs. Marcos stayed in the presidential guest house for nearly a week before the May 14 elections.

Leased properties

The STAR also learned that the 40-meter long swimming pool located beside the rest house has been leased to a local businessman.

Dauag himself confirmed that several kiosks have been built near the pool area, which overlooks Leyte Gulf.

At a monthly rental of P12,500, the pool has been in commercial operation since last month. It has been leased to Mina Sirikit-Tagra, a physician who has spent at least P600,000 for the repair of the pool, the bath house, lighting and floorings.

Also leased was the 18-hole golf course inside the property, now being maintained by the San Juanico Golf Club.

PCGG assistant regional director Salvador de la Paz said it was in 1992 when then chairman Magtanggol Gunigundo allowed the use of the golf course in exchange for the maintenance of the fairways and greens.

Aside from a monthly rental of P1,500, the PCGG exacts an amount of P100 per head for non-club members using the golf course.

Also, the People Center and Library, which at one time housed the biggest collection of books in the country, has been leased to Unitrex Baratillo, a Manila-based trade fair operator for P6,000 a month.

Dauag said all earnings generated from the properties will be used for maintenance and the salaries of PCGG employees in the region.

Ancestral home

In a separate interview, Cobarrubias said they have evidence to show that the sequestered mansion really belongs to the Romualdez family.

"Whatever way they (PCGG) put it, that is still their ancestral home," she said.

Cobarrubias appealed to the Arroyo government not to take drastic action.

"We are calling on President Arroyo to look into the matter in the spirit of the healing process," she said.

Cobarrubias said it was without due process when former President Corazon Aquino created the PCGG and ordered the sequestration of all Marcos assets.

"But this is ancestral property and must be returned to the family," she said.