PCGG executive laments order to halt auction of Imelda jewels

MANILA, Philippines - The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) official who wanted to auction the confiscated jewelry of former first lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos admitted feeling sad and frustrated by the sudden order from Malacañang to stop the auction.

“Of course, I felt somehow sad and frustrated. For one month, almost all of my time and energy was poured in the effort,” commissioner Ricardo Abcede, who handles asset management, told reporters in a press briefing yesterday afternoon.

“I was making calls, I was attending to a myriad things, I was dealing with the media,” he said.

Abcede stressed that he was particularly disappointed that the sudden order had prevented representatives of the two most prestigious international auction houses, Christie’s and Sotheby’s, from giving the Philippine government a latest appraisal of the Marcos jewelry.

He said his communication with Christie’s and Sotheby’s had led the two companies to send their gemologists here to make an appraisal of the jewelry at their own expense and at no cost to the government.

Abcede expressed concern that the order to stop the auction would make any future effort to lure the two auction houses back here to make an appraisal and make a bid to auction the Marcos jewelry much more difficult. 

“The Aquino administration will again have to invite these people for the nth time. I don’t know if they will be willing to come back here at their own expense,” he said.

However, Abcede stressed that he was complying with the directive to stop the effort to auction the jewelry, which he said took him by surprise.