'Ill-gotten' Imelda Marcos jewellery collection could be auctioned

A jewellery collection owned by former first lady Imelda Marcos was "ill-gotten", a Philippine court has ruled, possibly paving the way for a massive auction of seized treasures worth millions of US dollars.

The anti-graft Sandiganbayan court decided the Malacanang Collection, the smallest of three confiscated from the Marcos estate and worth US$150,000, was rightfully owned by the government.

"Partial judgment is hereby rendered declaring the pieces of jewellery, known as the Malacanang Collection, as ill-gotten, and are hereby forfeited in favour of the petitioner, the Republic of the Philippines," read the 33-page ruling released yesterday.

The other two sets are already in government hands, but the ruling is significant because previous attempts to auction off the entire haul have been derailed by legal issues relating to the Malacanang pieces.

Officials said the court ruling on its forfeiture meant that an auction could now proceed.

An assessment made by Christie's in 1991 put the value of the three collections at up to US$8.5 million, though more than two decades on it is likely to be substantially higher.

The pieces in the smallest collection were seized from the Malacanang presidential palace after the 1986 "people power" revolution ended the two-decade regime of Ferdinand Marcos.