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.
BEIJING FORUM: ‘So-called freedom of navigation advocated by certain countries outside the region challenges the norms of international relations,’ the minister said Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) yesterday denounced “hegemonic logic and acts of bullying” during remarks at a Beijing forum that were full of thinly veiled references to the US. Organizers said that about 1,800 representatives from 100 countries, including political, military and academic leaders, were in Beijing for the Xiangshan Forum. The three-day event comes as China presents itself as a mediator of fraught global issues including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Addressing attendees at the opening ceremony, Dong warned of “new threats and challenges” now facing world peace. “While the themes of the times — peace and development —
Venezuela on Saturday organized a day of military training for civilians in response to the US deployment in the Caribbean, and amid new threats from US President Donald Trump. About a month ago, Washington deployed warships to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35 jets sent to Puerto Rico in what it calls an anti-drug and anti-terrorism operation. Venezuelan Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino Lopez has accused Washington of waging “undeclared war” in the Caribbean, after US strikes killed over a dozen alleged drug traffickers off his country’s coast. Caracas also accused the US of seeking regime change, and
BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS: A prosecutor said they considered the risk of Hak-ja Han tampering with evidence to be very high, which led them to seek the warrant South Korean prosecutors yesterday requested an arrest warrant for the leader of the Unification Church, Hak-ja Han, on allegations of bribery linked to the country’s former first lady and incitement to destroy evidence. The move came a day after the 82-year-old was questioned over her alleged role in bribing former first lady Kim Keon-hee and a lawmaker. Founded in 1954 by her late husband, Sun Myung Moon, the Unification Church has long been the subject of controversy and criticism, with its teachings centered on Moon’s role as the “second coming” and its mass weddings. Followers are derisively referred to as “Moonies.” However, the church’s
‘MURDER’: The US has not provided proof that boats it has struck were trafficking drugs, and a Venezuelan official said it was a crime against humanity that must be investigated Venezuela on Friday accused the US of waging an “undeclared war” in the Caribbean and called for a UN probe of US strikes that have killed more than a dozen alleged drug traffickers on boats over the past few weeks. Washington has deployed warships to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35s sent to Puerto Rico in what it calls an anti-drug operation. “It is an undeclared war, and you can already see how people, whether or not they are drug traffickers, have been executed in the Caribbean Sea. Executed without the right to a defense,” Venezuelan Minister of Defense Vladimir
RSS