THE hunt for the Yamashita treasure remains elusive.
Baguio City Vice Mayor Edison Bilog said there are no updates in the recent search for the gold underneath the Baguio Convention Center by treasure hunter Eliseo Cabusao Jr.
The treasure hunter got the nod of Baguio City officials to search and extract what he believes is the fabled treasure with an agreed sharing scheme; 35 percent of the treasure will go to the city, 30 percent to the National Government through the National Museum, and 35 percent to Cabusao.
Bilog said to this day the loot remains a dream.
The loot is fabled to be stolen by Japanese soldiers under the command of General Tomoyuki Yamashita during World War II when Japan attacked and conquered most of the Far East. It was reportedly stashed in underground tunnels and caves in the northern part of the Philippines before Japan surrendered to the United States in 1945.
This week, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled to punish government workers who dug without permission at the restricted Justice compound for the same treasure.
High Court Justices found Edgardo Hallera and Elvie Carbone, both casual Utility Worker II, Maintenance Unit, SC Compound, Baguio City, guilty of grave misconduct, and terminated his casual employment, forfeiting all benefits, with prejudice to reinstatement or reappointment to any public office.
Engineer Teofilo Sanchez, SC supervising judicial staff officer and officer-in-charge of the Maintenance Unit, SC Compound was slapped with a two year suspension without pay and was found guilty of simple neglect of duty.
The complaint alleged that: first, Engineer Sanchez ordered Hallera to conduct excavation activities near the Cottages F and J3 to search for hidden Japanese treasure and second, due to the said excavation activities in the area, the structural soundness of the foundation of the cottages was compromised.
The treasure, first came to national attention when a Filipino treasure hunted named Rogelio Roxas claimed that he dug up a three-foot golden-colored Buddha and gold bullions in 1971 on state lands near Baguio City.
He also claimed that former President Marcos seized his find and had Roxas beaten and incarcerated for over a year.
In March 1988, Roxas filed a lawsuit in the state of Hawaii against Marcos and former First Lady Imelda Marcos for theft and human rights abuses.
Baguio Re greening movement chair, Erodolfo Balajadia said treasure hunting is a direct violation of the newly-approved environment code of the city.