20/08/2001

Philippine press sources have reported that the art collection of their former President, Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda, has gone missing. The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) which was formed by the Cory Aquino Government is unable to find some "20 paintings with an estimated value of around $ 1 million (€ 1.1 million) each," including works by Degas, Klee, and Monet. According to the PCGG (which itself has been the subject of corruption allegations), impounded artworks were stored in a building located in New York owned by the Philippine government. Haydee Yorac, chairwoman of the PCGG said, "We don't have a record on how much they're actually worth." The collection was formed by Imelda Marcos who stored European artists and Russian religious icons in the Santo Niño Shrine, Tacloban, Leyte in the Philippines. (Andrew Moore)