Sandigan junks Imelda motion vs jewelry seizure

MANILA, Philippines - The government can now seize the Malacañang jewelry collection believed to be worth millions of pesos.

In a decision promulgated last June 11, the Sandiganbayan dismissed the motion for reconsideration of former first lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos and her daughter Irene Marcos-Araneta for lack of merit. 

“A perusal of the respondents-movants’ motions for reconsideration will show that the arguments set forth therein are a mere rehash or reiteration of the arguments contained in their comments and opposition to the Republic’s motion for partial summary judgment, which the Court had already judiciously considered and thoroughly passed upon in the challenged partial Summary Judgment, dated Jan. 13, 2014,” read the decision.

On Jan. 13, the  anti-graft court ordered the jewelry seized in a forfeiture case under Civil Case No. 0141.

The Malacañang jewelry collection consists of smaller and less valuable pieces of jewelry left behind by the Marcos family when they fled the country in February 1986.

In its Jan. 13 ruling, the Sandiganbayan said the jewelry collection is part of the ill-gotten wealth of the late President Ferdinand Marcos.

A 1991 assessment placed the value of the Malacañang collection to be between $110,055 and $153,089, making it the smallest and least valuable of three such collections confiscated by the government from Imelda Marcos in 1986.

The Roumeliotes collection is comprised of 60 pieces of more extravagant jewelry and loose gemstones seized from Greek Demetriou Roumeliotes on March 1, 1986 at the Manila International Airport.