Imelda Marcos, the widow of deposed Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, has declared her net worth to be 932.8 million pesos (US$22 million), parliamentary records show, as she continues to fight the government over her assets more than two decades after her husband’s reign ended.
Imelda Marcos declared wealth of US$22 million last year, records released late on Thursday showed, which would make her the -second-richest Philippine politician behind boxing hero and congressman Manny Pacquiao.
The amount declared was almost 50 percent higher than in 2010, with the 82-year-old including new assets which were surrendered to the government by her husband’s associates.
A popular revolt toppled Ferdinand Marcos from power in 1986, sending the family fleeing overseas. Manila has since been trying to recover the wealth he and his allies allegedly accumulated through graft during his 20 years in office.
The deposed president died in exile in 1989 and his family was allowed to return home, with his widow elected in 2010 to a congressional seat representing a family stronghold.
Before she was elected Imelda Marcos complained of being nearly penniless, despite living in a luxury condominium unit and frequently appearing in public, bedecked with jewelry.
Her lawyer Robert Sison said his client, known for her jet-set lifestyle and love of shoes, could not touch much of her declared wealth as it had been seized or sequestered by the government.
“The ownership of these properties is being contested and the government is not off the hook,” he said.
Sison said Imelda Marcos’ declared worth rose last year because she added assets that had been surrendered to the government by her husband’s associates, wealth that was previously “overlooked.”
The lawyer said his client was the true owner of the assets and would seek to recover them.
In the Philippines elected officials are required to declare their wealth each year.
Pacquiao, rated by many as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, was elected to parliament in 2010 and declared assets worth 1.3 billion pesos.
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
RSS