by FFE PH News Staff

Anti-graft agency wants public to see around Php350 million worth of ill-gotten Marcos jewelry.

After the last of the three ill-gotten jewelry collections of the Marcoses had been awarded to the government by the Sandiganbayan last month, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) is hot in the heels of another quest: to open the collection to public viewing.

PCGG commissioner Maita Chan-Gonzaga said the goal of the exhibit is to show the extravagance of the Marcoses while they were in power and become a ‘mechanism for remembrance, to make sure any revisionist history doesn’t take root, so the excesses of the past will not be forgotten.

‘It’s not to aggrandize the jewelry. It’s part of a larger picture. You can’t forget the abuses of the past.’

She added that the agency is currently finalising venue and security details before asking for a clearance from Malacañang.

The three collections consist of around 760 pieces of tiaras, brooches, necklaces and earrings studded with diamonds, emeralds, gold, pearls and other rare and precious stones. The combined Malacañang, Roumeliotes and Hawaii collections are estimated to be worth $8m or Php350m.

While an exhibition of the jewelry is in the horizon, the battle for the Malacañang collection remains ongoing as the Marcoses appealed the January Sandiganbayan decision.