Results of Marcos jewelry appraisal out this month

MANILA, Philippines – The international auction houses that recently inspected the Marcos jewelry collections are expected to submit to the government the results of the appraisal this month.

Presidential Commission on Good Government commissioner Andrew de Castro said auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s will submit their respective appraisals in “two to three weeks.” The PCGG said that it would immediately release to the public the results of the appraisal.

The two auction houses, with the approval of the government, conducted a week-long appraisal on the three collections of jewelry that were confiscated from the Marcoses after the People Power Revolution in 1986.

The Marcos jewelry, believed to be part of the ill-gotten wealth of the family of former President Ferdinand Marcos, is divided into three sets known as the Hawaii, Roumeliotes and Malacañang collections.

The estimated value of the three collections, which are stored at a high security vault at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in Manila, are expected to significantly increase from the previous appraisal of around $6 million to $8 million more than two decades ago.

For instance, a previously overlooked 25-carat pink diamond was estimated to cost around $5 million. Other “loose jewels” from the Hawaii collection were initially estimated to have a value of $1 million per piece.

But it will still be up to the appraisers to come up with the final valuation of the jewelry collections.

While the two auction houses were given the green light to appraise the collections, De Castro said there is no agreement yet with regard to plans to auction the jewelry.

PCGG chairman Richard Amurao said the appraisal is a significant step to finally assess the three collections and determine their current value.

“This will significantly open the way for determining a final resolution of the said assets, including the possible auction of the same,” he added.

The PCGG earlier expressed intention to auction the jewelry although there are talks of possible permanent exhibition of the three collections.

The Hawaii collection, made up of around 300 pieces, was seized by US Customs from the Marcoses when they fled to Hawaii after the 1986  People Power Revolution. It is currently under the custody of the PCGG by virtue of an agreement between the former first lady and the government.

The Roumeliotes collection, composed of only around 60 pieces of jewelry but is deemed as the most expensive among the three, was seized from alleged Marcos associate Demetriou Roumeliotes as he tried to smuggle it out of the country.

It was later forfeited in favor of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) as the attempt to smuggle the jewelry out of the country is a violation of the Tariff and Customs Code.

The Malacañang collection, on the other hand, is composed of over 400 luxury jewelries and other items that were left in Malacañang after the Marcoses fled.

The Sandiganbayan declared in 2014 that the said collection is part of the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. The ruling is currently being appealed by Imelda at the Supreme Court. Malacañang has jurisdiction over the said collection.

All three collections are in the same vault at BSP, with different agencies – the PCGG, the BOC, the Office of the President and the Commission on Audit – holding four keys that are needed to open the vault.