IN TEN out of the 13 Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) that she filed as member of Congress from June 1998 to June 2007, Ma. Imelda ‘Imee’ R. Marcos, eldest daughter of the late strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos and incumbent Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda R. Marcos, had reported fairly moderate gains in her wealth.
This all changed in 2011, a year after she was elected governor of Ilocos Norte: Imee Marcos began disclosing more details, including a P17.2-million increase that almost tripled her net worth from P10.7 million in 2010 to P27.9 million as of 2011.
According to her 2011 SALN, Imee has six properties in Ilocos Norte worth P922,935.16, an inchoate share of her father’s estate under litigation, and P26.9 million in personal assets, bulk of which consists of jewelry, paintings, and artifacts. Her liabilities remained undetermined but were noted as still referring to “unpaid lawyer’s fee; claims and tax liabilities currently under litigation.”
As a member of Congress, Imee had not specified the total values of her real property and liability, and the details of her business interest in her asset declarations that PCIJ was able to secure from the House of Representatives. The statements she filed were inexact to begin with, reporting “indeterminate” amounts due to properties, claims and tax liabilities, and shares in various corporations that are all “under litigation.” Her net worth, which is supposed to cover both real and personal assets less liabilities, had only mirrored that amount she reported as personal.
Just the same, the rise in Imee’s wealth is due mainly to personal assets growing by 151 percent — from P10.7 million in 2010 to P26.9 million in 2011. Her jewelry increased in value from P2.5 million to P12.5 million, and paintings and artifacts from P2.5 million to P6.3 million in just one year. She also reported a P1-million increase in “cash on hand/bank accounts/time deposits” and P1.5-million increase in “furniture, antiques.”
As in 2010, her personal assets in 2011 also include two vehicles worth P3.1 million and stocks worth P100,625, which is noted as well as an inchoate share of her father’s estate that is under litigation.
PCIJ sent queries by fax and email to Imee asking her to explain the rise in her net worth from 2010 to 2011. She has not responded to the letter as of this writing.
In 2011, Imee also started filling out the business interests and financial connections section of her SALN. Previously, these items had not been spelled out in her SALN because of shares in various corporations under litigation.
But in her 2011 SALN, Imee declared four entities where she sits as “Officer-President”: The Imelda R. Marcos Collection, Inc., IPROD, Inc., Creative Media and Film Society of the Philippines, Inc., and the Marcos Presidential Center, Inc. All four companies are located in San Juan City. The Marcos Presidential Center was acquired in 2002, while the rest were acquired in 2007.
Records at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also reveal two more entities that appear to have once been connected to Imee Marcos: Friends of the National Museum Inc. and Sirib ni Ilocano Foundation Inc.
A 2000 Sirib document, however, says that Imee has already resigned from the foundation while Friends of the National Museum registration has been revoked.
Imee’s 2011 SALN also reveals seven relatives in government, among them her mother Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda R. Marcos, her brother Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos Jr., and cousins Navotas Rep. Tobias ‘Toby’ M. Tiangco, Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, Ilocos Norte Vice Governor Angelo M. Barba, Tacloban City Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez, and Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Mariano ‘Nonong’ V. Marcos II.