Gov’t to sell P900-M assets, including Imelda Marcos’ ‘Hawaii’ jewels

THE INTERAGENCY Privatization Council has agreed to the sale of almost P900 million worth of government assets, including the “Hawaii Jewelry” confiscated from former First Lady Imelda Marcos priced at P658 million.

During last week’s meeting, the council approved the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG)’s plan to put on sale the pieces of jewelry seized following the fall of former President Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship in 1986. The jewels were priced at $14 million (roughly P658 million).

The “Hawaii Jewelry” is one of three Marcos collections under the care of PCGG worth at least P1 billion, based on appraisals from auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s. The other two are called the Malacañang and Roumeliotes collections.

The Hawaii collection is comprised of about 300 jewelry pieces confiscated by the US customs bureau when the Marcoses fled to Hawaii. The collection includes a 25-carat “extremely rare” pink diamond believed to be previously owned by a Mogul emperor, which was estimated to be worth at least $5 million or around P237 million.

Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran, who chairs the Privatization Council, said the PCGG has yet to set a date for the auction of the Hawaii jewelry.

Also approved by the council was the PCGG’s proposed sale of shares in Showa United Food Inc. to Campos-led Greenfield Development Corp. for P50.05 million.

The Privatization Council also gave its green light to the Privatization and Management Office’s (PMO) sale of the National Coconut Corp. property, priced at P56.6 million, to state-run Social Housing Finance Corp.

The council likewise approved the PMO-proposed settlement of obligations of Manila Bay Island Resorts Inc. for assignment of 78 lots in Sherwood Hills Residential Estate and Golf and Country Club in the Cavite province, valued at P74.2 million. This is on top of another cash payment, which officials did not indicate how much.

The Privatization Council also approved the PMO’s proposal to extend a lease agreement with Victoria Wave Special Economic Zone located in Caloocan City covering 21 hectares at P1 million to P1.2 million a month from October this year to March 2018.

The Aquino administration targets to generate P2 billion in privatization proceeds annually.