Timeline: Jewels, properties, and billions of Marcos ill-

gotten wealth
By Eimor P. Santos, CNN Philippines
Originally published: November 25, 2015
Updated 16:27 PM PHT Thu, July 7, 2016

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) How did the Marcoses accumulate their
wealth?

Former President Ferdinand Marcos started amassing wealth from the

government when he was first elected head of state in 1965, according to the World
Bank-UN Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNODC) Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR)
Initiative.

When his 21-year regime finally ended in the People Power Revolution of
February 1986, he siphoned off an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion, the study
added.

The StAR database records six ways on how Marcos accumulated the plethora of
government resources:

Outright takeover of large private enterprises

Creation of state-owned monopolies in vital sectors of the economy
Awarding government loans to private individuals acting as fronts for Marcos
or his cronies
Direct raiding of the public treasury and government financial institutions
Kickbacks and commissions from firms working in the Philippines
Skimming off foreign aid and other forms of international assistance

Almost 30 years in the making, the recovery of Marcos alleged ill-gotten wealth
continues today with the appraisal of the confiscated jewelry collection of former
first lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos.

The Marcos' jewelry collections will be revalued, and auctioned at the Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) until November 27, through the joint efforts of the
Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and the Bureau of Customs
(BoC). All proceeds will go to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

The jewelry sets include gem and diamond-studded tiaras, bracelets, and
necklaces from the Hawaii collection which were seized from the Marcoses upon
their arrival in Honolulu on February 26, 1986. These have been stored in a vault at
the BSP.

Initially estimated at P377 million, the luxury collection is but a slice in the entire
stash made by Marcos, his family, relatives, and allies.
 Here are other luxury items and properties retrieved by the government and
auctioned off in the past:

(1) Landmark building in New York, February 1991

The Crown Building, located at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in New York, was
sold at an auction for $93.6 million, a 1991 New York Times article reported.

Marcos reportedly bought the landmark building secretly in 1981 using funds
from the Philippines' national treasury.

(2) Old Masters paintings and antique silver, January 1991

Eighty-two old masters paintings and 71 cartons of antique silverware were

auctioned off in New York for $13,302,604.86. These were seized from Malacaang
and the Metropolitan Museum of Manila.

In 1991, the New York Times also reported that the U.S. government sold 25
Khashoggi paintings, dubbed as such because these were seized from wealthy
Saudi businessman Adnan Khashoggi in 1987. These were reportedly acquired from
Imelda Marcos in the previous year and led to her and Khashoggi's indictment for
racketeering and fraud.

(3) Multi-million dollar bank deposits, 1998

A total of $627 million of Marcos bank deposits were repatriated from

Switzerland, following an order from the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. The accounts
and securities were placed on an escrow account in the Philippine National Bank
(PNB).

(4) Multi-million dollar assets from Marcos dummy corporation, April 2009

Then President Ferdinand Marcos formed Arelma, S.A. (Arelma) in 1972 under
Panamanian law. That same time, Arelma opened a brokerage account with Merrill
Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (Merrill Lynch) in New York, depositing $2 million.
By 2000, the account had grown to approximately $35 million.

Amid several claimants including Arelma itself, the Philippine government,

and human rights victims the Sandiganbayan declared the Arelma-held assets
forfeited in favor of the Philippine government in 2009.

In 2012, the Supreme Court (SC) affirmed the anti-graft court's decision.
 (5) Baguio property, April 2012

The sequestered 3,900-square-meter lot in Baguio City was auctioned off for P93
million ($2.16 million). It was acquired by a real estate firm for thrice the minimum
bid, the PCGG revealed. The prime property was surrendered to the government by
self-confessed Marcos crony Jose Yao Campos in exchange of immunity in 1986.

(6) Lot on Roxas Boulevard, March 2013

A 4,038-square meter commercial and residential lot on Roxas Boulevard in

Paraaque City known as the "Mapalad property" was auctioned off for P247.11
million. The property was surrendered to the Corazon Aquino government in 1986
also by Campos.

In June 2013, the PCGG turned over the proceeds to the BTr.

(7) Properties in San Juan, Pasig and Quezon City, September 2014

Confiscated properties worth P157 million from the estate of late National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Jolly Bugarin were sold at an auction.

The combined winning bids were for a house and lot measuring 727 square
meters in North Greenhills, San Juan; a 721-square meter property in Valle Verde III
in Pasig; and a 582-square meter lot in Capitol Hills, Diliman Quezon City.

(8) Authentic Gobillard paintings, seized September 2014

On the orders of the Sandiganbayan, authorities seized 15 paintings from Imelda

Marcos' residence in San Juan City 11 of these were found to be authentic works
of French impressionist Paule Gobillard.

All the paintings were estimated to be worth $1 million.

(9) Payanig sa Pasig property, failed to bid on June 2015

Dubbed by the PCGG as the crown jewel of Campos-surrendered assets, the

18.5-hectare property has a floor price of P16.5 billion, then PCGG chairman Andres
Bautista announced on March 26.

In June, there was a failure of bidding after only one of three real estate bidders
appeared during the auction. According to the PCGG, the government has lost
around P2 billion from the Payanig property, and continues to incur losses due to
illegal occupants in some areas.

(10) P166B returned to government so far

In the latest 2013 annual report of the PCGG, P166.2 billion of Marcos ill-gotten
wealth has already been turned over to the national treasury.
 Majority (47%) went to the funding for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program and the coconut industry (43%), while the rest will go mostly to
compensation for human rights victims and the Office of the President.