( I love Imelda! She is totally insane….Watch the documentary Imelda…you have to love her…that ego! Wow! cd)
ATAC, Philippines (Reuters) – Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines, vowed Monday to go to court to stop the government’s plan to sell millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry confiscated from her family in 1986.
The collection is reported to include a Persian-style necklace with more than 100 carats of canary and pink diamonds, and a diamond-studded bracelet with a 31-carat marquise at its center.
President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s cash-strapped government hopes to fund a land reform program by selling the Marcos jewelry. The world’s top auction houses were invited to value three sets from the Imelda Marcos collection this week.
Mrs Marcos, who faces dozens of criminal and civil charges related to the 20-year presidency of her late husband Ferdinand Marcos, said she intended to file a legal motion against the government with a Manila court by Friday.
“I am confident that my efforts will be successful to stop the sale and recover my jewels,” she told reporters in her husband’s hometown of Batac in the northern Philippines.
“The government has not shown any proof that the funds used to purchase them were ill-gotten.”
Previous attempts to sell the jewels have fallen through because of disputes including over a venue for the auction.
Mrs Marcos is probably best known for her collection of more than 1,200 pairs of shoes, but she also built up an extensive jewelry collection.
Media have put the value of the jewels as high as $20 million, representing a small part of the up to $10 billion the couple are accused of plundering.
Officials at the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), the state agency seeking to recover the Marcos wealth, have said the collection is likely to be worth $4-$6 million.
An auction may be held this November or next May, both peak times for jewelry sales, the officials said.
“I’m confident that Mrs. Marcos would not pursue the plan suggested by her lawyers to prevent the sale of the jewelry,” Rick Abcede, a PCGG commissioner, told a news conference.
“Mrs Marcos does not need this jewelry. She has enough expensive collections and art objects. The ultimate beneficiaries of the sale of those jewels are the poor among us since the proceeds will go to land reform.”
Representatives from international auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s are due in Manila Thursday to appraise the collection, which is kept in a vault at the central bank. A team from Bonham’s auction house is also due to meet with the government.
The three sets of jewelry were seized at the presidential palace, Manila international airport and by U.S. customs agents in Hawaii as the Marcos family fled the Philippines for exile in the United States in 1986. Ferdinand Marcos died there in 1989.
Abcede said the government would not stop Mrs Marcos from buying back her collection when it is put up for auction.
