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Bureau of Customs plans to sell a set of Imelda's jewelry


(Update 7:36 PM) The Philippines’ Customs Bureau is planning to sell a set of jewelry owned by former first lady Imelda Marcos. Called the Roumeliotes jewelry collection, the set — one of three owned by the spouse of the late dictator Ferdinand — is named after Greek national Demetrius Roumeliotes who reportedly tried to smuggle the collection out of the country in March 1986. However, the set – considered as the most expensive — was intercepted and seized at the airport by the Bureau of Customs (BOC). The other two jewelry sets are named Malacañang and Honolulu. The Roumeliotes collection was intercepted at the airport by the BoC who reportedly tried to smuggle them out of the country, two weeks after the Marcoses flew to Hawaii. Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said he discussed the matter with officials of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), an agency tasked to retrieve ill-gotten Marcos wealth. “We had a meeting with them but the problem was I told them I do not have a budget to invite these internationally known European-based gemologists, who are known in the world. The PCGG will be inviting them to appraise these Roumeliotes jewelry," Morales said. The Roumeliotes set is currently stored at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The bureau attempted to sell the jewelry collection twice through an auction in 1993 and 2009 but both resulted in failed bidding. Meanwhile, proceeds from the jewelry sale are expected to help cover the Philippines’ budget deficit next year, which is expected to reach 3.3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. The planned auction will also cover the other two sets of jewelry, Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves said separately in a text message. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV
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