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Ferdinand Marcos' Gold Said to Be 'Enough to Banish Poverty'
By Federico D. Pascual Jr.
Philippine Star, Manila
Sunday, September 3, 2017
http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2017/09/03/17...nough-banish...
Way back in 2009, former first lady Imelda Marcos told this columnist and
three other newsmen that her family's wealth, most of it in gold kept in 177
banks abroad, is enough to rehabilitate the Philippines and lift Filipinos
from poverty.
A big question is how to bring back the hidden hoard while everybody is
debating whether the wealth was stolen by then-president Ferdinand Marcos and
what part of it should be turned over to the Philippine treasury.
Why would the family offer (they do not say "return") their
wealth accumulated over 50 years to be used to improve the quality of life of
Filipinos? Because, Imelda told us, that was the wish and instruction of her
late husband.
The Marcoses' avowed intention, while laudable, did not ring true to me,
because I did not sense even a hint of a concession that part of the wealth
was tainted. Also, the paucity of details left me guessing.
Imelda showed us what appeared to be instruments supporting her claim to
incalculable wealth waiting to be tapped. The documents were laid out neatly
on long tables in two large rooms adjoining her penthouse in Bonifacio Global
City.
What needs to be done to open the Marcos trove? She beat around the
question, but my understanding was that it would be unlocked once another
Marcos becomes president, or if a fair deal is struck with the government.
There was talk then that Imelda (80 at the time) wanted her son Bongbong
to run for president. But being unprepared for the big league, he marked time
in the Senate while waiting for 2016. Noynoy Aquino's winning the presidency
in 2010 ruled out any deal on the wealth issue.
In 2016 Bongbong was still unable to jockey for a presidential run and,
under pressure to move forward, detoured to the vice presidency route. But he
lost to Leni Robredo, whom he is now trying to dislodge via a protest.
President Duterte disclosed last Tuesday, meanwhile, that his and Marcos'
representatives were talking about freeing part of the hidden assets -- which
critics promptly labelled as ill-gotten wealth that must be returned in full,
to the last gold bar, with interest.
There is also concern that with their bulging war chest, the Marcoses
might try buying a favorable decision at the Presidential Electoral Tribunal
that is hearing Bongbong's protest. The vice presidency is just one short
step to a Malacanang homecoming.
Below is a portion of our postscript of Feb. 1, 2009, titled "Given a
chance, Imelda vows to banish poverty":
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Goodbye, poverty. If former first lady Imelda R. Marcos were to be given a
chance to access her family's wealth locked in various banks worldwide and
pursue her dreams, there would be no more poor Filipino in about two years.
Yes, you heard it right from Imeldific. All this noise about many
Filipinos not having enough for basic needs will vanish, almost like magic,
when she brings to work the fabulous wealth that her late husband, Ferdinand
Marcos, amassed over 50 years.
The other day I happened to be with three other newsmen chatting with
Superma'am in her penthouse at McKinley Place in Fort Bonifacio. She was in
fresh green, still poised and charming -- although, she confessed, the knees
are creaky at times.
Her receiving room was almost choked with choice art objects. I told Lito
Gorospe, who still assists her with media details, I was afraid to go near
the precious items. "Don't worry," he kidded me. "If you touch
something and it breaks, you take it home." (Lito died of aneurysm at
age 78 in September 2014 in a Manila hospital.)
Just how much is the fabled Marcos wealth? Ma'am just smiled -- she must
have heard the question popped a million times before -- and said something
about some really wealthy people not being able to count their money.
Later she opened two rooms where voluminous documents were neatly arranged
on long tables, documents that, she said, were the legal basis for her
claiming valuable assets, mainly gold, stashed away in banks in 72 countries.
To give you an idea, in the Bank of England alone Marcos deposited 205
tons of gold in 1981 to back up paper money to be printed in London against
U.S. advice (read: pressure). At that time, gold was priced at $420 per
ounce, versus $927 at present.
[Yesterday, September 2, 2017, the price was around $1,325 per ounce.]
Marcos had bullion in 177 banks, starting his gold hoard 10 years before
he became president in 1966. Mrs. Marcos said her husband was lawyering for
many mining firms and quietly amassing gold.
On the side, Mrs. Marcos said the days of the mighty dollar are numbered.
She said it would be more prudent to have the peso backed by gold -- as her
late husband had wanted -- instead of pegging it to the shaky dollar.
She said that the gold-vs.-dollar issue was among the reasons why Marcos
earned the ire of the U.S. and moved it to help depose him in 1986.
She said there was also the issue of the military bases, whose original
99-year lease (in perpetuity) Marcos reduced to 25 years and later to just
five years while raising the rent to $700 million annually for the 23 U.S.
military installations throughout the islands.
Then President Marcos cut the lease period, she said, because 30 years of
continuous occupation could transform the bases into U.S. possessions. [The
bases agreement expired in 1991.]
Mrs. Marcos said their assets include shares in big corporations entrusted
to some businessmen and cronies. She showed contracts and stock certificates
to prove that Marcos held controlling equity in many giant firms.
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