Philippines acquires new batch of Marcos jewelry

Former first lady Imelda Marcos FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The chief of the Philippine agency recovering the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his family says a court decision ordering Marcos’ widow to relinquish more than $100,000 in jewelry is a victory for Filipinos and shows that crime does not pay.

The chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, Andres Bautista, said Tuesday his agency is proposing an exhibition of the jewelry to illustrate the excesses of the 20-year Marcos regime, which ended in 1986.

The anti-graft court decided Monday that former first lady Imelda Marcos should relinquish the jewelry to the government after declaring it was ill-gotten.

It is the third collection of Marcos jewelry that the government has acquired. The two other collections are estimated to be worth up to $8.4 million.

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