FILIPINOS in need of urgent assistance of government will benefit the most from the public auction of P704.8-million worth of seized jewelry from former first Lady Imelda Marcos, Malacañang guaranteed Friday, May 31, 2019.
The assurance was made after President Rodrigo Duterte greenlighted the sale of the so-called Hawaii jewelry collection consisted of diamond and gem-studded tiaras, bracelets, and necklaces.
“The Chief Executive directs that the proceeds must reach our fellow countrymen who are in urgent need of governmental aid with dispatch,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.
The jewelry pieces of the former first lady were seized in Honolulu, Hawaii, where her family fled in February 1986 following the People Power Revolution that ended the 20-year rule of her husband, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
The jewelry collection of the Marcos matriarch includes a rare, 25-carat, barrel-shaped pink diamond estimated to be worth at least $5 million, and a Cartier diamond tiara with an estimated value of $30,000 to $50,000.
Marcos, who has been convicted of graft in November 2018 for funneling public funds to overseas bank accounts during her husband's dictatorial regime, is known for her penchant for expensive jewelry, shoes, and clothes.
Panelo allayed concerns that the “publicly acknowledged” support of Marcos's daughter, Senator-elect Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos, could affect the President’s decision on the sale of her mother's jewelry collection.
This comes after Duterte is known to be a friend of the Marcos family.
“As we have repeatedly assured the nation, the President is no respecter of friendship, political alliance and filial relationship,” the Palace official said.
“The President decides on any national matter on the basis of the constitutional command to him to serve and protect the people,” he added.
Panelo assured the public that Duterte would continue to govern the country “with public welfare and national interest foremost in his mind, converting the bureaucracy of the government into an effective and efficient mechanism beneficial to the Filipino people, especially those belonging to the marginalized sectors of society.”
He likewise stressed that progress in the country is the President's utmost priority.
“Let it reverberate in every asphalt jungle and wilds of the archipelago, that the President, without fear nor favor, will continue to govern the nation, with an iron political will, laced with compassion and devotion, to effect the desired changes that will uplift the lives of the masses of our people under a regime of peace and order,” he said.
“No force on earth can derail this President from pursuing his avowed goal of transforming our country into a new mound and scaling the heights never been reached,” he added. (SunStar Philippines)