Thursday, 3 November 2011
Sunday, 16 October 2011
10 Questions: Imelda Marcos
Since her husband, philippine strongman ferdinand marcos, died in exile in Honolulu in 1989, Imelda Marcos has seldom been out of the news, mostly because of the Philippine government's 20-year pursuit of what it considers the Marcos family's ill-gotten gains, rumored to amount to billions. Marcos talked with TIME's Nelly Sindayen about money, her encounters with world leaders, and�what else?�her shoes.
You're said to be one of the world's richest people. Just how rich are you?
If you know how rich you are, my dear, then you're not really rich. Frankly, I don't want to put numbers [out there], I don't want to attract any more lawsuits. The vultures want a piece of the Marcos meat, watching every figure mentioned.
If you know how rich you are, my dear, then you're not really rich. Frankly, I don't want to put numbers [out there], I don't want to attract any more lawsuits. The vultures want a piece of the Marcos meat, watching every figure mentioned.
How did your husband become so wealthy?
Ferdinand was a gold trader. He was a lawyer for mining companies. When he entered politics in l949, he had tons and tons of gold. When Bill Gates was a college dropout, Ferdinand already possessed billions of dollars and tons of gold. It wasn't stolen.
Ferdinand was a gold trader. He was a lawyer for mining companies. When he entered politics in l949, he had tons and tons of gold. When Bill Gates was a college dropout, Ferdinand already possessed billions of dollars and tons of gold. It wasn't stolen.
Why do you sometimes say you're poor?
I am poor not in material things but in the truth. I've been called a thief�the biggest ever ... The problem with First Ladies is that you have to set the standard. I had to wear jewelry then, but all that was taken away, confiscated by the government. They think they have taken everything away from me, including my shoes. But actually that's my biggest defense: when they opened my closet, they found shoes instead of skeletons. They've listed my name in the dictionary�"Imeldific" is used to mean ostentatious extravagance ... But the truth will prevail. At [77], I am still standing, still fighting the superpowers.
I am poor not in material things but in the truth. I've been called a thief�the biggest ever ... The problem with First Ladies is that you have to set the standard. I had to wear jewelry then, but all that was taken away, confiscated by the government. They think they have taken everything away from me, including my shoes. But actually that's my biggest defense: when they opened my closet, they found shoes instead of skeletons. They've listed my name in the dictionary�"Imeldific" is used to mean ostentatious extravagance ... But the truth will prevail. At [77], I am still standing, still fighting the superpowers.
Speaking of superpowers, the U.S. filed racketeering charges against you in 1988. You were acquitted, but not before you had to post $5 million bail.
The first one to come to my rescue was [Muammar] Gaddafi, who said he was willing to post bail for me even if it were 10 times higher. Even Saddam Hussein sent his foreign minister to ask if there was anything I needed.
The first one to come to my rescue was [Muammar] Gaddafi, who said he was willing to post bail for me even if it were 10 times higher. Even Saddam Hussein sent his foreign minister to ask if there was anything I needed.
Many notorious leaders have been kind to you.
[Fidel] Castro too. When I visited Cuba, he drove for me. He told me he had driven for only two people in his life�his mother and me ... At the height of the cold war, I visited China. When I saw Chairman Mao, I kissed his hand so he kissed my hand. "I like you," the Chairman said. "You're very beautiful, and childlike."
[Fidel] Castro too. When I visited Cuba, he drove for me. He told me he had driven for only two people in his life�his mother and me ... At the height of the cold war, I visited China. When I saw Chairman Mao, I kissed his hand so he kissed my hand. "I like you," the Chairman said. "You're very beautiful, and childlike."
You negotiated with Gaddafi to stop Libya's backing for the separatist Moro National Liberation Front in Mindanao.
Gaddafi said to me: You're a good woman, why don't you become a Muslim? I said I didn't know Islam. He said Islam is kind, so I said, then don't let Mindanao separate from the Philippines. He said Islam is generous, so I said, then give us oil at a low, friendship price. I ended up getting eight concessions, including cheap oil.
Gaddafi said to me: You're a good woman, why don't you become a Muslim? I said I didn't know Islam. He said Islam is kind, so I said, then don't let Mindanao separate from the Philippines. He said Islam is generous, so I said, then give us oil at a low, friendship price. I ended up getting eight concessions, including cheap oil.
Do you have a message for President Bush?
My advice to him is: do a Ferdinand in handling power. Ferdinand once told me, "Imelda, power is not used, it is felt."
My advice to him is: do a Ferdinand in handling power. Ferdinand once told me, "Imelda, power is not used, it is felt."
But Bush has to face threats like Osama bin Laden.
I beg Osama to stop warring. He is a Muslim, and Islam means peace. Nobody wins in a war ... I wish I were tapped in the problem about Iraq. I knew Saddam enough that I could have talked him into surrendering. But it's too late.
I beg Osama to stop warring. He is a Muslim, and Islam means peace. Nobody wins in a war ... I wish I were tapped in the problem about Iraq. I knew Saddam enough that I could have talked him into surrendering. But it's too late.
What will you do next?
I will come up with a project that will wipe out poverty in the Philippines in two years. I want to remove the people from economic crisis by using the Marcos wealth. Long after I'm gone, people will remember me for building them homes and roads and hospitals and giving them food. The people should stop laughing at all this. They should stop thinking that I'm a bit touched in the head.
I will come up with a project that will wipe out poverty in the Philippines in two years. I want to remove the people from economic crisis by using the Marcos wealth. Long after I'm gone, people will remember me for building them homes and roads and hospitals and giving them food. The people should stop laughing at all this. They should stop thinking that I'm a bit touched in the head.
You're as controversial as ever.
Being controversial is being whole. It's yin and yang. I used to be yin when Marcos was still alive, and he was the yang. Now I am both yin and yang.
Being controversial is being whole. It's yin and yang. I used to be yin when Marcos was still alive, and he was the yang. Now I am both yin and yang.
By Tarra Quismundo Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 20:42:00 05/03/2010 Filed Under: Elections, Politics, Graft & Corruption MANILA, Philippines -- It's the kind of fantastic wealth that could run the Philippines for almost 40 years or pay off its foreign debt 18 times. While dodging criticism for ?exploring? a settlement with the family of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) Commissioner Ricardo Abcede claimed on Monday that the dictator's widow Imelda confessed to keeping $1 trillion in an account in New York. Abcede said this twice in interviews over ABS-CBN's dzMM radio and ANC on Monday, as he defended his decision to pursue a settlement with the Marcoses to recover some P140 billion in ill-gotten wealth, instead of giving due course to more than 500 court cases against the Marcoses and cronies. Imelda Marcos, now running for Congress in the family's native Ilocos Norte, allegedly shared this over dinner with Abcede. ?How much really is their wealth? During our dinner, I said ?Ma?am this is what the people are asking.? "Without blinking...," she told me, ?Commissioner Abcede, in Citibank New York alone, the Marcoses have $1 trillion,? Abcede told ANC news anchor Tony Velasquez in a live interview. ?Now do we believe her or not? I don't know. Because on the one hand, she's saying she just depends on the charity of others, but here, it's fabulous wealth,? said Abcede. The Philippine Daily Inquirer tried to call Abcede several times on Monday, but the commissioner could not be reached. Marcos' children Bongbong and Imee also could not be reached by phone. Lawyer Frank Chavez, solicitor general at the time the PCGG was created during the Aquino administration, however said such figure was just imagination. ?It exists only in her (Imelda Marcos') mind,? said Chavez. He said the ill-gotten Marcos wealth could not have reached a trillion dollars as their last estimate in December 1991 placed the total Marcos assets at $10 billion kept in several Swiss accounts. This amount could have doubled overtime through interest. The Marcoses still face criminal and civil cases for allegedly amassing wealth through stealing from the country's coffers until the dictator was ousted through a peaceful revolt in 1986. In response to a petition Chavez filed, the Supreme Court had nullified a 1993 secret deal where the PCGG agreed to drop cases and grant tax exemption to the Marcoses given a 75-25 split of the family's Swiss deposits. Abcede again justified his move to arrange a settlement saying ?this will be good for the country and for our people.? He said a deal would lead to ?less anxiety, no sleepless nights.? ?If revenge is in your heart, nothing will happen. You have to move on,? he told ANC. He scoffed at reports calling talks with the Marcos side a ?midnight deal? as he clarified that reaching a settlement would take a long process and discussed at several levels: the commission en banc, the Office of the Solicitor General, the Department of Justice and then the Office of the President. Chavez said equating the pursuit of cases against the Marcoses to revenge was a twisted way of looking at litigation. ?It is a distorted way of looking at it. He has thrown [the mission of the PCGG] to the dustbin. This is a betrayal of the raison d'etre of the the PCGG. Litigation is not about revenge. It is about justice,? he said. Abcede also cleared President Macapagal Arroyo of any role in his actions, saying seeking settlements was part of the PCGG's mandate. He explained that the PCGG had the ?duty to find ways of settling cases instead of pursuing them in court.? ?I don't need her (Ms Arroyo's) sanction. Nakikipagkwentuhan lang naman ako eh. Aabalahin ko pa ba si Presidente (I just swap stories. Do I need to bother the President)?,? he said. Abcede earlier expressed confidence that a deal could be reached before the end of Ms Arroyo's presidency, also the end of his stay at the PCGG, or during the term of the next President. But because ?hope springs eternal? for Abcede, he believes this could still happen by some miracle. ?On my own I can't [do this]. Well, unless a miracle happens. If the Marcoses suddenly say ?we are willing to donate all of our wealth maybe here or outside [of the country] for the good of the Filipino people,?? he said. But for Chavez, the PCGG Commissioner has to get reacquainted with what the commission was meant to do. ?He does not know what they?re talking about. He's the one seeking them (Marcoses) out. Where is the integrity in that? It seems like the PCGG was already captured by the Marcoses,? he said.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
APPENDIX 6.13
Reproduced below is chapter 31 in its entirety extracted from the Marcos Legacy Revisited subtitled: Raiders of the Lost Gold, by Erick A. San Juan, published in 1998 in Makati City, Philippines. My thanks to "Dirk" for providing this.
Of interest is the sloppy prose style and typographical errors that closely correspond to the "mistakes" contained on all of Peter Johnston's gold bullion certificates - perhaps indicating that this, also, was written with "deniability" in mind?
CHAPTER 31
The Trilateral Commission's Aborted Deal with FM
The aborted deal of the CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL with the late Pres. Ferdinand Marcos (better known as the Trilateral Commission) involved an agreement in which the president was promised power for life and a guarantee of an Investment Loan to be coursed through a Mini-Marshall plan to save the failing Philippine economy. All these in exchange for his gold bullion.
The original document showing specifically how much gold Marcos kept at Fort Knox was given to me by an emissary of President Marcos which I handed, in trust, to Reynaldo Fajardo, who was supposed to write a book on this. This was the very same document brought by Ambassador Philip Habib to Manila in February 1986 for Marcos' signature. Marcos, however, didn't sign the document because THE CORPORATION wanted the gold bullion for themselves alone and merely offered to give him an investment loan in exchange. Soon after, through Cardinal Jaime Sin's call for people support, and armed with "Plan C," employing the Marxist principle "Religion is the opium of society." EDSA People Power came to the fore. This marked the beginning of Marcos' downfall.
A photocopy of these records was passed on to me by my friend, Col. Adex Villalon (RES). Had Marcos known of an impending conflict between the Philippine Government and his family, he could have immediately signed Habib's document and could have lived happily ever after.
The following is the text of the Trilateral Commission's communique with the late president Ferdinand Marcos under the letterhead, THE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL, brought by then U.S. Ambassador Philip Habib for F.M.'s approval and subsequent signature. The deal turned sour because the CORPORATION wanted to get everything, simply leaving Marcos a so-called investment loan out of his total gold hoard. On my visits to Hawaii, Marcos made it clear to me that he did not sign the document because, in his own words "para akong pinirito sa sarili kong mantika" (I would have been fried in my own lard). He further added that he had all those years, invested so much of his time, expertise, strategies, and a lot of guts, just to safeguard all the wealth which he intended to offer his countrymen's future and that of our children's children. This was also the reason why he was forced to leave Malacanang to regroup in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, but instead, he claimed to have been kidnapped, taken by force and against his will by the Americans and flown to Hawaii.
NOTE: The photocopy clearly displayed the entire logo of THE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL, with the words "CLOAKED WITH SECRECY" stamped on every page, together with the following details on each page's right-hand margin:
FIFTH AVENUE AT 55TH STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10022
212 753 4500
LANCASTERGATE - HYDEPARK - LONDONW23NZ
Telephone: 61-2525090 Telex: 291655 Prestel 3441100
WEINSERGSTRASSE 45, CH-8008 ZURICH
The Corporation International
TO: GM13CO
RE: TRANSACTION OF 62,321 MT
YOU ARE NOW PURSUING AS CODED SELLER, WE HEREBY GUARANTEE THAT YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE SAID TRANSACTION, UPON ITS SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION IS 1/4% OF 1%. WE SHALL MAKE ALL PAYMENTS MADE TO YOUR ACCOUNT TO ANY BANK OF YOUR CHOICE, AT YOUR INSTRUCTION.
Makati, Philippines, February 21,1986
PN15182541/ OR 12241942/ AA (BBRP) ABLL1
ATTESTED:
(signature unidentified)
"301/RVH/301STCO/S18/69/66"
TO: 1135PACER
IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTION OF 62,321 METRIC TONS, PURSUED BY GM13CO, WE HEREBY GUARANTEE THAT YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE SAID TRANSACTION, UPON ITS SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION IS 1/4% OF 1%. WE SHALL MAKE ALL PAYMENTS MADE TO YOUR ACCOUNT TO ANY BANK OF YOUR CHOICE AT YOUR INSTRUCTION.
Makati, Philippines, February 21, 1986.
PN15182541/ OR 12241942/ AA (BBRP) ABLL1B
ATTESTED:
(signature unidentified)
301/RVH/301STCO/S18/69/66
THE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL
C O N F I D E N T I A L
REQUEST ATTENTION TO:
____________________
____________________ THRU:
1. THE CODED PRIVATE SELLER OF SCATTERED GOLD BARS IN THE PHILIPPINES
INVESTMENT LOANS:
SUCCESFULLY AND DISCREETLY LOANS ARRANGED FROM 1980 TO 1985 INCLUSIVE WITH 216 PRIME LEAD BANKS BY PN-1518254 AND HIS 25 SECRET GROUPS: WITH PARTICIPATIONS OF CODED GROUPS FROM USA AND EUROPE.
SUBJECT :
READINESS AND AVAILABILITY AND BLOCKED U.S. DLRS 100 BILLION, OR U.S. DLRS 150-BILLION INITIALLY AS INVESTMENT LOANS OFFERED TO THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT THRU THE CODED PRIVATE SELLER OF THESE 62,321 METRIC TONS OF GOLD BARS OR MORE.
THESE USDLRS BILLION FUNDS AS INVESTMENT LOANS HAVE BEEN ARRANGED-NEGOTIATED SINCE 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984 WITH USDLRS 600-BILLION CAN BE REACTIVATED WITH 1,000 PRIME BANKS IN THE U.S.A. AND EUROPE WITHIN 20 DAYS FROM ACCEPTANCE AND REPAYABLE WITH 62,321 METRIC TONS OR MORE OF THESE GOLD BARS OF RECORDED 999.9% PURITY OF DIFFERENT SIZES OR DENOMINATIONS OWNED AND POSSESSED BY PHILIPPINES/ CODED PRIVATE SELLER IN THE PHILIPPINES.
C O N F I D E N T I A L
1) 62,321 METRIC TONS OF GOLD BARS IN THE PHILIPPINES, ETC.
Hereunder in simple words are the facts and events in a nutshell to which we adhered and by reasons of which, we, thru the code 'U.S.A.D.T' the World-Sole-Financially Established lenders-buyers and the European Lenders-Buyers, have both recognized without any reservation, the rights, possession, ownership and disposition of these gold bars with recorded 999.9% purity of different sizes and denominations of your/Philippines and for which we agree, as we have agreed to give INVESTMENT LOANS repayable with these gold bars in the Philippines, vice-versa.
2) IN THE PHILIPPINES
These 62,321 Metric Tons or more of gold bars are in the Philippines, but secretly, per our calculations only about 43,200 Metric Tons of these gold bars had been found and excavated from 1972 to 1980, the other 20,000 Metric Tons, or more, are still to be located and 'excavated' (?), or already very secretly-shrewdly in the hands of some retired/active Generals (?) and/or private Hunters-Priests, alike.
3) READINESS OF UNLIMITED USDLRS-BILLION FUNDS AS INVESTMENT LOANS: PHILIPPINES IN CRISIS
The Philippines is in a sort of serious political and economic crisis. Every and all bankers in the world are refusing to give financial aids and no more foreign banks and foreign institutions would lend money to the Philippine Government due to its huge unpaid external debts, and the only salvation as we believe and know pretty clear are these gold bars of the coded seller thru 'Authority' under the principle of 'Pares Patria' thru, the initial USDLRS IOO-Billion and up to USDLRS 150-Billion which had long been blocked and ready since December 2, 1985 and the USDLRS 600-Billion can be easily reactivated by fiduciary-principals of ours, thru code: "U.S.A.D.T." and the European groups with its 1,000 prime banks within 20 days, more or less, if these offers are accepted. And all these U.S. BILLION FUNDS are all for INVESTMENT LOANS for the Philippine/coded seller and repayable with all these 62,321 Metric Tons, or more, of gold bars of any size or denomination with 999.9% purity.
4) BEGINNING OF NEGOTIATIONS ABROAD WHOEVER THE CODED PRIVATE SELLER
Therefore Sir, with much due respect to the private coded seller authorized for these huge transactions in connection with these scattered gold bars of different sizes in the Philippines 999.9% purity and 24 carat - we wish you to know, thru the undersigned coded Chairman of the Confidential Committee, in order these highly classified messages may eventually reach the coded seller of these 62,321 or more Metric Tons of gold bars with different sizes or denominations that initially USDLRS 100-Billion or USDLRS 150-Billion as Investment-Loans have long been readied and blocked and can be reactivated within a very reasonable time. To be repetitious, all these INVESTMENT LOANS as cited above, initially USDLRS 100-Billion have had already been readied and blocked since December 2, 1985 up to the present with 1,000 prime banks in the USA continents and in some 500 primebanks in the European countries---with USDLRS 600 Billion or more can be reactivated within 20 days or more, are all for direct INVESTMENT LOANS to the Philippines/coded seller who is naturally under the 'Pares Patria' of the President of the Philippines and which are repayable in 24 hours only with these 62,321 Metric Tons or more of gold bars of different sizes and denominations and with 999.9% purity. These USDLRS BILLION DOLLARS can be verified on bank-to-bank levels only.
5) MAN CODED PNI518254 AND HIS SECRET GROUPS INTERNAL AND ABROAD
If only to help the Philippines and his countrymen thru his beloved President to secure the unlimited U.S. Billion Dollars as Investment loans and overcome the political and economic uncertainties of the Philippines, this coded man, PN1518254 or code '12241942/AA (BBRP) ABLLIB' had resigned from his gainful banking-finance-law practices giving up his retainership of 43 private corporations and even went to the extent of, at the great sacrifice of his family and relatives of encumbering his properties some of which have already been forfeited and spending with his groups both foreign and local to the tune of more than 315,000 dollars had worked and still is working very hard with HIS AFORESAID GROUPS TO TIGHTLY HOLD ON THESE 8,000 foreign banks and to successfully secure these unlimited U.S. Billion Dollars as Investment Loan, all repayable with these gold bars in the Philippines.
6) OUR FOREIGN FIDUCIARY PRINCIPALS' REQUIREMENTS
Therefore, thru our foreign fiduciary principals-lenders-buyers, we request the following:
1. Ocular inspection of all these (Physical stocks) gold bars in the Philippines or elsewhere abroad by PN1518254 soonest with coded 'U.S.A.D.T.' representative and the certification of availability and genuineness of aforesaid gold bars from the International Prime Trust bank of seller on the deposit of these gold bars or two hard copies authorization from the President of the Philippines or his authorized Minister confirming the availability of these gold bars about 62,321 Metric Tons or more of any sizes and purity of 999.5% or 999.9% and the readiness and willingness to accept our Investment Loan offers which are all repayable with these aforesaid gold bars and after assay and determination of the genuineness of gold bars of the U.S.A.D.T./USA and the European Legitimate Lenders-Buyers, will pay thru coded sellers' prime banks, or on any suggested procedures from coded authorized seller/ Philippine coded Authority that can be mutually agreed upon.
2. These U.S.A.D.T./LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS from the USA, together with the European groups, shall always be FLEXIBLE and UNDERSTANDING to the secret requirements of the Authority/ Coded Private Seller, knowing these huge transactions have to partake of a very PRIVATE TRANSACTION IN NATURE.
3. All incentives and commissions are deducted at source with international tariff of 10% and incentives of 7% less 2% for PN1518524/Foreign Groups/Local VIPS/GROUPS.
4. That our U.S.A.D.T. Lenders-Buyers groups in the USA will pay CASH ONE THIRD of the total prices based on the London Second Fix of all these gold bars of any sizes, minus/less above international Tariff 10% and 7% commissions deducted at source, with remaining balance corresponding to the prices of all these gold bars, shall be paid depending on the "WISHES" of the coded Seller assigned for this purpose.
7) MECHANICS OF USDLRS-BILLION DOLLARS INVESTMENT LOANS FOR THE PHILIPPINES
The mechanics of these unlimited USDLRS-BILLION DOLLARS as INVESTMENT LOANS are as follows:
1. Since these huge confidential transactions involving USDLRS 983 Billion which are "perhaps" the actual price of these gold bars in the Philippines, which price is based on London Second Fix, less the ten (10%) percent tariff for rebaring, recasting and reassaying deductible for every release of these USDLRS-BILLION funds as INVESTMENT LOANS and less further the seven (7%) percent as incentives and tax sales abroad (to 7% less 2% for codes LOCAL VIPS/ GROUPS AND PN1518524 and 1,000 to 2,000 members groups)--- are purely private transactions --- and no world financing agencies will ever know any of these huge transactions, except the coded private seller and the confidential Philippine AUTHORITY.
2. It will appear in all banks documentation of these coded "U.S.A.D.T." LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS from the USA, as well as from the EUROPEAN LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS - the former represented by the private company while the latter is represented also by private company, respectively, that all these initial USDLRS100-Billion or more will appear exactly as 'VOLUNTARY INVESTMENT LOANS' to coded seller for "PHILIPPINE AUTHORITY" and for that reason, as if an, repeat as if an, INVESTMENT LOANS AGREEMENT shall be signed at the office of the Philippine President, when in truth, it is the acceptance of these US-HUNDREDS BILLION DOLLARS FUNDS very secretly and the simultaneous turn-over to our two groups of all those gold bar's with 999.9% purity.
3. And behind these INVESTMENT LOANS --- for the reasons the initial USDLRS 100-Billion or initial USDLRS 150-Billion as irrevocably certified by our 10 to 40 lead prime international banks and these funds are good as CASH - thus there will only be two permanent and exclusive contracts to be signed with the coded private seller under the umbrella of "Code1 " of the Philippines in favor of our two world most financially established democratic lenders-buyers groups, i. e. the U.S.A.D.T / LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS from the USA and the EUROPEAN GROUPS, and which contracts shall be signed in the physical presence of that "Authority" of the Philippines, at Malacanang Palace, Manila, Philippines:
4. Simultaneously, within 10 days, after such agreements and acceptance of the Initial USDLRS-100 Billion, or USDLRS 150-Billion, with our licensed international assayers of these two world most established Financial coded groups, as buyers-lenders shall proceed to personally conduct the assaying of all the physical stocks of these gold bars which may last up to May 30, 1986; thereafter, these physical stocks of gold bars, if found genuine, the coded "U.S.A.D.T." LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS will immediately issue so-called Certified funds from International Prime Banks for the balance.
8) ABSOLUTE GUARANTEE BY THESE TWO LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS
The U.S.A.D.T world most established Financial Legitimate moneyed groups from the USA thru its front company and with the EUROPEAN LENDERS-BUYERS GROUPS thru its front-company hereby mutually, thru the undersigned committee Chairman, has IRREVOCABLY, UNEQUIVOCALLY AND ABSOLUTELY guaranteed that the private coded seller and his "AUTHORITY" of the Philippines shall be free and exempt from any civil or criminal liability or international suits that may arise in connection with these gold bars transactions which these two most financially established groups are buying with the processes and mechanics of so-called "INVESTMENT LOANS AGREEMENTS"; and the undersigned members and chairman of the finance confidential committee of these USADT-LENDERS-BUYERS from the USA and the EUROPEAN-LENDERS-BUYERS will all do the hauling and transporting of all these gold bars very quietly at their expense without any obligations whatsoever from private coded seller and his "Authority" after the assay are finished up to May 1986, through the U.S.A. 90,000 deadweight tons Aircraft Carrier in one or two shipments only and very confidentially. Further whatever PENDING CASES this coded seller or his "AUTHORITY" has filed against them with the International Court of Justice or International Forum, these two word most established financial and moneyed groups through the undersigned members and chairman of the Finance Committee shall be answerable and responsible and hereby, these coded world's group assume any and all obligations unconditionally and responsibility thereto.
9) FINAL OFFER AND CONCLUSION
The acceptance of these USDLRS 600-Billion up to USDLRS 983-Billion, with initial USDLRS 100-Billion and/or USDLRS150-Billion already BLOCKED since December 2, 1984 and November 7, 1985 as INVESTMENT LOANS, and all repayable very secretly and CONFIDENTIALLY with all these gold bars in the Philippines of about 62,321 Metric Tons or more with 999.9% purity --- the first and primary "contact" to be made by said "AUTHORITY" /coded private seller (thru its seller's international bank) should be coursed first its acceptance of these UNLIMITED-US-BILLION DOLLARS as Investment Loans to the same man coded as PN1518254 or "12241942/ AA (BBRP) ABLLIB" and with coded seller will know where to immediately "contact" this PN1518254.
With the foregoing facts and events and more practically our aforesaid adherence and firmed and complete recognition of the Philippines' rights, possession, ownership and disposition of all those gold bars, we, thru the coded "U.S.A.D.T." MONEYED-LENDERS-BUYERS from the USA and with the European lenders-buyers groups, ---now wish to call the special attention of:
10) CODED SELLER THRU HIS "AUTHORITY" CONCERNED
On these "INVESTMENT LOANS" long negotiated and finally arranged from 1980 to 1984 inclusive with 216 foreign prime banks by the man coded as PN1518254 or "12241942 (BBRP)ABBLIB" and his groups, with the principal participations of Foreign groups (USA) and the European groups.
Consequently, the READINESS and AVAILABILITY of all these UNLIMITED US-BILLION DOLLARS as INVESTMENT LOANS cited above are all blocked since December 2, 1985 exclusively intended for the Philippine' coded seller repayable with these 62,321 Metric Tons of gold bars, or more, in the Philippines. And with these huge sums as INVESTMENT LOANS are still intact, "frozen" so to say with the 3,000 prime banks in the USA and in 500 prime banks in the European continents earning nothing since December 2, 1985 up to the present while other end users /countries in the world are all in bad need of these "BLOCKED-US BILLION DOLLARS."
These two-world-moneyed groups thru the undersigned had agreed with coded seller that all these gold bars transactions should be treated as very PRIVATE IN NATURE and no involvement of any public officials nor Philippine embassies abroad, and we shall always be FLEXIBLE, UNDERSTANDING and SYMPATHETIC to the "requirements" of the Philippine "coded seller." And finally, with the successful and confidential conclusion of this transaction, it becomes necessary immediately to convert the present Central Bank Minting facilities to an internationally accepted gold bullion refinery, either as subsidiaries of world renown minting firms such as the Johnson Mathey, National Mint or the likes or as separate private company under the Trilateral supervision.
Now, it's up to YOU, SIR, to make the 54 Million Filipino people happy and economically and industrually stable and solid with these UNLIMITED BILLION USDLRS INVESTMENT LOANS repayable with these 62,321 Metric Tons of gold bars or more in your country. Don't wait for others to claim this IMMORTAL CREDIT. Kindly do it while you are in your solid possession and right and you alone can do it and alone can claim immortal glory as the greatest man in Asia.
Yours very respectfully,
"PN1518254 /OR 12241942 /AA (BBRP)ABBLIB"
(unidentified signature)
"301 /RVH /301STCO /S18 /69 /66"
THE "U.S.A.D.T." GROUPS OR LENDERS-BUYERS/ USA AND THE EUROPEAN GROUPS OF LENDERS-BUYERS thru (Confidential Finance Committee Members)
(unidentified signature)
Authorized Signature
Coded Chairman, World's Coded Finance Committee
Friday, 7 October 2011
Yamashita's Gold - Eyewitness
Reveals Truth Of Fabulous
WWII Hidden Treasure
By Sterling and Peggy Seagrave
South China Morning Post
9-3-1
In the closing months of World War II, in the Philippines, several of Japan's highest ranking imperial princes hid tons of looted gold bullion and other stolen treasure in caves and tunnels, to recover later. This was the wealth of 12 Asian countries, accumulated over thousands of years.
Expert teams accompanying Japan's armed forces had systematically emptied treasuries, banks, factories, private homes, pawn shops, art galleries, and stripped ordinary people, while Japan's top gangsters looted Asia's underworld and its black economy.
There were 175 ''imperial'' treasure sites hidden throughout the Philippines. When American tanks were close, the chief engineers of those vaults were given a farewell party 67 metres underground in Tunnel 8 in the mountains of Luzon, stacked with row after row of gold bars. As the evening progressed, they drank great quantities of sake, sang patriotic songs and shouted banzai (long life).
At midnight, General Yamashita Tomoyuki and the princes slipped out, and dynamite charges were set off in the access tunnels, entombing the engineers. Their vaults would remain secret. The princes escaped to Tokyo by submarine, and three months later General Yamashita surrendered to American troops. Japan had lost the war militarily, but the princes made certain Japan did not lose financially.
This grisly event has remained unknown until now, and the hidden treasure was brushed off as a fanciful legend of ''Yamashita's Gold''. But an eyewitness to the entombment has taken us there and given us his personal account. During the war, Ben Valmores was the young Filipino valet of a senior prince, who was in charge of closing all imperial treasure sites in the Philippines. A sometimes sentimental man, the prince spared Ben's life and led him out of Tunnel 8 just before the dynamite was detonated.
Japan's looting of Asia was overseen by [then-emperor] Hirohito's brother Prince Chichibu. His organisation was codenamed kin no yuri (Golden Lily), the title of one of the emperor's poems. Other princes headed different parts of Golden Lily across the conquered territories. Eventually, Japanese sources told us that Ben's wartime master was prince Takeda Tsuneyoshi, first cousin of Hirohito and grandson of emperor Meiji.
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1998, we tested Ben with 1930s photographs of many princes, all the names removed, and he instantly identified prince Takeda, Hirohito's brother prince Chichibu and other princes.
Ben said he had spent time with each of them, bringing them food, tea and cigarettes while they inventoried each treasure site. When he saw our photo of Prince Takeda, Ben froze, then began softly crooning the Japanese folk song Sakura, Sakura (Cherry Blossoms), which he said Takeda often sang to himself.
In the final stages of work on a biography of Japan's imperial family titled The Yamato Dynasty, we were told that in October 1945, American intelligence agents learned where some of the Japanese loot was hidden in the Philippines, and quietly recovered billions of dollars worth of gold bullion, platinum, and loose diamonds. This information, if true, revealed the existence of an extraordinary state secret, something the United States Government kept from its own citizens for more than half a century. There was no time to include this in the biography. It had to be investigated separately. Here is some of what we have since learned:
After surrendering on September 2, 1945, General Yamashita was charged with war crimes over gruesome atrocities committed in Manila under the order of an admiral, while Yamashita had ordered withdrawing troops to leave the city unharmed. During his trial, there was no mention of plundered treasure, or of looting during the war.
But we now know there was a hidden agenda. Because it was not possible to torture General Yamashita physically without this becoming evident to his lawyers, members of his staff were tortured. His driver, Major Kojima Kashii, was given special attention. In charge of the torture of Major Kojima was a Filipino-American intelligence officer named Severino Garcia Santa Romana, whose friends called him Santy. He wanted the major to reveal each place where he had taken Yamashita, where bullion and other treasure was hidden for recovery after the war. Supervising Santy during the torture was Captain Edward Lansdale, later one of America's best known ''Cold Warriors''.
Early that October, Kojima broke and led Lansdale and Santy to more than a dozen Golden Lily treasure vaults in the rugged country north of Manila. What they found astounded everyone from General Douglas MacArthur all the way up to the White House. After discussions with his cabinet, President Harry Truman decided to keep the recovery a state secret.
Santy's ensuing recoveries greatly altered America's leverage during the Cold War. According to senior US government officials and high-ranking US Army officers, the Truman administration set this treasure aside along with Axis loot recovered in Europe, as a secret political action fund to fight communism in the Cold War.
Crudely put, it would be used to bribe statesmen and military officers, and to buy elections for anti-communist political parties. The idea for a global political action fund based on war loot had originated with US secretary of war, Henry Stimson. During the war, Stimson had a brain-trust thinking hard about recovered Axis plunder, and how it should be handled after the war. Their solution was to set up what is informally called the ''Black Eagle Trust'', after the black eagle emblem of Hitler's Reichsbank in Berlin.
The Black Eagle Trust was first discussed in secret during July 1944, when 44 nations met at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to plan the post-war economy. This was confirmed to us by a number of high-level sources, including former CIA deputy director Ray Cline, who knew about Santy's recoveries in 1945, and continued to be involved in attempts in the 1980s and 1990s to hide blocks of Japanese war loot still said to be in the vaults of banks in New York.
In November 1945, General MacArthur strolled down row after row of gold bars stacked two metres tall during a tour of vaults opened by Santy. >From what was seen in these vaults alone, it was evident that over a period of years Japan had looted billions of dollars in treasure from all over Asia.Much of this plunder had reached Japan overland earlier, from China through Korea, but the rest was hidden in the Philippines, unable to be shipped to Japan by sea because of the successful US submarine blockade.
According to Ray Cline and others, between 1945 and 1947 the gold bullion recovered by Santy and Lansdale was moved discreetly to 172 accounts at banks in 42 countries.
There were important reasons for all this secrecy. If the recovery of this huge mass of stolen gold was known only to a trusted few, the countries and individuals that had been plundered could not lay claim to it. Truman recognised that the very existence of so much black gold, if it became public knowledge, would cause the metal's fixed price to collapse. But as long as the gold was kept hidden, prices could be maintained and currencies pegged to gold would be stable. Meanwhile, the black gold would serve as a reserve asset, bolstering the prime banks in each country, and strengthening the anti-communist governments of those nations.
To hide the existence of all this treasure, Washington had to tell a number of lies. Especially lies about Japan, which had stolen most of the gold. America wanted Japan to become its anti-communist bastion in Asia, where the mainland was being overrun by communists. If American conservatives and Japanese conservatives were to ally effectively against communism, they had to begin by enlarging their financial resources for the Cold War.
Above all, the source of much of this hidden wealth must never be acknowledged. Washington had to insist, starting in 1945, that Japan never stole anything, and was flat broke and bankrupt when the war ended. Here was the beginning of many terrible secrets.
Because they remained ''off the books'', these enormous political action funds got into the wrong hands, where they remain to this day. We can reveal that in 1960, then vice-president Richard Nixon ''gave'' one of the biggest of these political action funds, the US$35-billion (about HK$272 billion) M-Fund, to leading members of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). In return, he is believed to have sought their support for his presidential campaign that year.
The M-Fund, now said to be worth more than US$500 billion, is still controlled by members of the LDP.
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, we are told that Japan's wartime elite the imperial family, the zaibatsu (large industrial business conglomerates), the yakuza (Japanese mafia) and the ''good'' bureaucrats ended the war as impoverished victims of a handful of ''bad'' military zealots. We are told that Japan was badly damaged and impoverished, barely able to feed itself at war's end.
In fact, Japan emerged from the war far richer than before, and with remarkably little damage, except to the homes of millions of ordinary Japanese who did not count, at least in the view of their overlords.
Evidence of Golden Lily loot comes also from straightforward legal actions in America. Such simple things as the probating of the will of Santa Romana (Santy), verification of his tax records, and legal evidence of his fortune deposited in the US, Switzerland, Hong Kong and elsewhere, provide hard proof that the world is awash with clandestine bank accounts growing out of Golden Lily.
Other lawsuits in the US prove that Golden Lily war loot was indeed hidden in the Philippines. Rogelio Roxas, a Filipino locksmith, found a one-tonne solid-gold Buddha and thousands of gold bars hidden in a cave near Baguio only to have it stolen from him by President Ferdinand Marcos. Roxas was subsequently tortured and died in suspicious circumstances. Some believe he was murdered. In 1996, a US Federal Court awarded his heirs a judgment of US$22 billion against the Marcos estate.
As the 1951 Peace Treaty was skewed by secret deals, thousands of Japan's victims have been deprived of any compensation for their suffering. According to Article 14 of the Treaty: ''It is recognised that Japan should pay reparations to the Allied Powers for the damage and suffering caused by it during the war. Nevertheless it is also recognised that the resources of Japan are not presently sufficient.'' To reinforce the claim that Japan was broke, Article 14 noted that ''the Allied Powers waive all reparations claims of the Allied Powers and their nationals arising out of any actions taken by Japan...'' By signing the Treaty, Allied countries concurred that Japan's plunder had vanished down a rabbit hole, and all Japan's victims were out of luck. In return for going along with the Treaty, the Allies received portions of the gold bullion recovered by Santy.
We have evidence from former CIA deputy director Cline that the gold bullion Santy and Lansdale recovered was secretly moved to national treasuries and prime banks in more than 42 countries, including Great Britain. We also have evidence from British archives confirming this.
More than half a century later, the last battle of the Pacific War is being waged in courts in the US and Japan where surviving prisoners of war, slave labourers, comfort women and civilian victims of Japan have filed billion-dollar lawsuits to win compensation so mysteriously denied them after the war. In 1995, it was estimated that there were 700,000 victims of the war who had still received no compensation.
Today, their numbers are dwindling rapidly because of age and illness. Backing them is an extraordinary coalition, including international law firms with years of experience, fighting for compensation from German industries and Swiss banks, for crimes committed and money looted during the Nazi Holocaust.
Sterling and Peggy Seagrave are the authors of ''Golden Warriors''. This is an edited extract of the book's prologue. It will be published in French by Editions Michalon in November
Thursday, 6 October 2011
page contents
Before 'Rolex
12,' there was 'Omega 5'
12,' there was 'Omega 5' MANILA, Philippines -- Martial Law is generally believed to have been a one-man undertaking, but Ferdinand Marcos himself revealed that he consulted with certain people--initially referred to as the "12 apostles"--before he signed Proclamation No. 1081 on Sept. 21, 1972.
The details of the plan to declare martial law were contained in Oplan Sagittarius, a document that identified the units involved in its implementation, as well as the targets for military takeover, such as airports, oil depots and the mass media.
Marcos named the two civilians and 10 top officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a speech delivered in 1974 and published in the Official Gazette.
The military officers were AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Espino; Maj. Gen. Rafael Zagala, Army commanding general; Maj. Gen. Fidel Ramos, chief of the Philippine Constabulary (PC) ; Maj. Gen. Jose Rancudo, Air Force chief; Adm. Hilario Ruiz, Navy flag officer in command; Maj. Gen. Fabian Ver; Brig. Gen. (then Col.) Ignacio Paz, chief of intelligence, the Joint General Staff; Brig. Gen. Tomas Diaz of the 1st PC Zone; Brig. Gen. (then Col.) Alfredo Montoya, Metropolitan Command chief; Col. Romeo Gatan, provincial PC commander of Rizal and special projects officer.
The civilians were Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and businessman and Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco.
These closest advisers of Marcos were later called the "Rolex 12." (The story goes that each of the men received a Rolex watch from Marcos himself. This was later denied repeatedly, but the name is still used to refer to the group.)
'7 wise men'
In the Official Gazette report, Marcos said he met with the 12 men "repeatedly, in all-night sessions at Pangarap, Malacañang Park," five or seven days before the actual proclamation."
But according to a general interviewed by National College of Public Administration and Governance dean Alex Brillantes Jr., and quoted in his book, "Dictatorship and Martial Law: Philippine Authoritarianism in 1972," six of the 12 knew of Marcos' decision to impose martial law two months before the actual proclamation.
Referred to as the "seven wise men" by Marcos' civilian aides in Malacañang, the group--Marcos himself, Enrile, Ver, Diaz, Montoya, Gatan and Cojuangco--met in early July 1972 at the Pangarap rest house after a party held to celebrate the promotion of some military officers.
Per Brillantes' account: Marcos disclosed his plan to use his emergency powers and told Enrile to "plan this out."
The group left the rest house and moved to the Presidential Command's headquarters, where Enrile assigned the tasks to those present.
Montoya was to implement the declaration of martial law in Metro Manila, Diaz was to direct its implementation in the First PC Zone, and Ver was to handle the "conclave in Malacañang."
One of the generals noticed Ramos' absence and asked Ver why he was not included, given that he was a Marcos relative.
Ver replied: "I really don't know. ... That's how the President decides these things."
Brillantes said Enrile admitted later in an interview that it was he "who dictated the drafts [of Presidential Proclamation No. 1081-'Proclaiming a State of Martial Law in the Philippines"], but that the President corrected them."
Enrile also reportedly said Cojuangco was involved because "he was the political leader trusted by the President to supervise the Central Luzon area."
Another general interviewed by Brillantes said Cojuangco was involved "because he had contact with, and knew how to handle, [Sen. Benigno "Ninoy"] Aquino."
Ninoy Aquino, who was assassinated on Aug. 21, 1983, was Marcos' archenemy. His wife, former President Corazon Aquino, is a cousin of Cojuangco's.
'Omega 5'
But of the Rolex 12, there were the "Omega 5," Tomas Diaz told the Inquirer Thursday.
Diaz, apparently the lone survivor of Omega 5, said this secret group (which supposedly included Ver) helped craft the decrees leading to Proclamation 1081 even before the Rolex 12 finalized the strongman's plan.
A native of Paoay, Ilocos Norte, Diaz said the Rolex 12 met in 1972 to implement what the Omega 5 had planned as early as 1970.
Having been a member of the two groups, he said he had both a Rolex and an Omega watch.
"Marcos was a very detailed man. He started preparing in 1970," Diaz said in a phone interview.
He said that at the time of the Omega 5 meetings, he was PC provincial commander of Tarlac, a hotbed of insurgency and Ninoy Aquino's home province.
During the Rolex 12 meetings in 1972, he said, he was already commander of the 1st PC Zone, which had jurisdiction over Tarlac, Pampanga and other provinces in Central Luzon.
He retired in 1978 as deputy PC chief.
'About midnight'
It was Montoya who recommended that the declaration be made at "about midnight," when most of the radio and TV stations would be off the air.
If martial law was to be declared during the day, Montoya had an alternate plan of blowing up all transmitter stations to cut off communication.
Of the "12 apostles," only Rancudo opposed the plan to declare martial law--a fight that he continued until his death on April 14, 1987.
Enrile stayed on as Marcos' defense secretary (later minister) until their breakup in February 1986.
During martial law, Enrile, Cojuangco and Maria Clara Lobregat formed what militant farmers called the triumvirate for the implementation of Marcos' coconut levies.
Enrile is now a member of the administration bloc in the Senate.
Where are they now?
When Marcos fled in 1986 to Hawaii, where he died on Sept. 28, 1989, Cojuangco and family went with him.
In November 1989, Cojuangco ended his self-exile and came back in a private aircraft. Today, he is back as board chair of San Miguel Corp., the country's largest firm, which he once controlled.
He also chairs the central committee of the Nationalist People's Coalition.
Ramos joined Enrile in seizing the AFP headquarters in February 1986 and both were hailed heroes of Edsa 1.
President Corazon Aquino appointed Ramos in 1986 as AFP chief of staff. In 1988, he became defense secretary.
He was responsible for blocking six coup attempts against the Aquino administration.
He served as President in 1992-1998. He is now chair emeritus of the ruling party, Lakas-CMD.
Ver was one of the most feared and powerful men during Marcos' iron rule. He was held responsible by human rights groups for the imprisonment, torture and death of countless dissidents.
He fled to Hawaii along with the Marcoses.
He was charged by the majority members of the Agrava Fact-Finding Board as a principal in the double murder of Ninoy Aquino and Rolando Galman. But in late 1985, the Sandiganbayan acquitted him and other military respondents.
Ver was charged as an accomplice in a new trial ordered by the Supreme Court. But he was not tried in his absence and the case against him has been shelved.
He died on Nov. 21, 1998, in Bangkok.
Gatan, also among those believed involved in the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, has likewise died, along with Espino and Paz.
The details of the plan to declare martial law were contained in Oplan Sagittarius, a document that identified the units involved in its implementation, as well as the targets for military takeover, such as airports, oil depots and the mass media.
Marcos named the two civilians and 10 top officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a speech delivered in 1974 and published in the Official Gazette.
The military officers were AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Espino; Maj. Gen. Rafael Zagala, Army commanding general; Maj. Gen. Fidel Ramos, chief of the Philippine Constabulary (PC) ; Maj. Gen. Jose Rancudo, Air Force chief; Adm. Hilario Ruiz, Navy flag officer in command; Maj. Gen. Fabian Ver; Brig. Gen. (then Col.) Ignacio Paz, chief of intelligence, the Joint General Staff; Brig. Gen. Tomas Diaz of the 1st PC Zone; Brig. Gen. (then Col.) Alfredo Montoya, Metropolitan Command chief; Col. Romeo Gatan, provincial PC commander of Rizal and special projects officer.
The civilians were Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and businessman and Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco.
These closest advisers of Marcos were later called the "Rolex 12." (The story goes that each of the men received a Rolex watch from Marcos himself. This was later denied repeatedly, but the name is still used to refer to the group.)
'7 wise men'
In the Official Gazette report, Marcos said he met with the 12 men "repeatedly, in all-night sessions at Pangarap, Malacañang Park," five or seven days before the actual proclamation."
But according to a general interviewed by National College of Public Administration and Governance dean Alex Brillantes Jr., and quoted in his book, "Dictatorship and Martial Law: Philippine Authoritarianism in 1972," six of the 12 knew of Marcos' decision to impose martial law two months before the actual proclamation.
Referred to as the "seven wise men" by Marcos' civilian aides in Malacañang, the group--Marcos himself, Enrile, Ver, Diaz, Montoya, Gatan and Cojuangco--met in early July 1972 at the Pangarap rest house after a party held to celebrate the promotion of some military officers.
Per Brillantes' account: Marcos disclosed his plan to use his emergency powers and told Enrile to "plan this out."
The group left the rest house and moved to the Presidential Command's headquarters, where Enrile assigned the tasks to those present.
Montoya was to implement the declaration of martial law in Metro Manila, Diaz was to direct its implementation in the First PC Zone, and Ver was to handle the "conclave in Malacañang."
One of the generals noticed Ramos' absence and asked Ver why he was not included, given that he was a Marcos relative.
Ver replied: "I really don't know. ... That's how the President decides these things."
Brillantes said Enrile admitted later in an interview that it was he "who dictated the drafts [of Presidential Proclamation No. 1081-'Proclaiming a State of Martial Law in the Philippines"], but that the President corrected them."
Enrile also reportedly said Cojuangco was involved because "he was the political leader trusted by the President to supervise the Central Luzon area."
Another general interviewed by Brillantes said Cojuangco was involved "because he had contact with, and knew how to handle, [Sen. Benigno "Ninoy"] Aquino."
Ninoy Aquino, who was assassinated on Aug. 21, 1983, was Marcos' archenemy. His wife, former President Corazon Aquino, is a cousin of Cojuangco's.
'Omega 5'
But of the Rolex 12, there were the "Omega 5," Tomas Diaz told the Inquirer Thursday.
Diaz, apparently the lone survivor of Omega 5, said this secret group (which supposedly included Ver) helped craft the decrees leading to Proclamation 1081 even before the Rolex 12 finalized the strongman's plan.
A native of Paoay, Ilocos Norte, Diaz said the Rolex 12 met in 1972 to implement what the Omega 5 had planned as early as 1970.
Having been a member of the two groups, he said he had both a Rolex and an Omega watch.
"Marcos was a very detailed man. He started preparing in 1970," Diaz said in a phone interview.
He said that at the time of the Omega 5 meetings, he was PC provincial commander of Tarlac, a hotbed of insurgency and Ninoy Aquino's home province.
During the Rolex 12 meetings in 1972, he said, he was already commander of the 1st PC Zone, which had jurisdiction over Tarlac, Pampanga and other provinces in Central Luzon.
He retired in 1978 as deputy PC chief.
'About midnight'
It was Montoya who recommended that the declaration be made at "about midnight," when most of the radio and TV stations would be off the air.
If martial law was to be declared during the day, Montoya had an alternate plan of blowing up all transmitter stations to cut off communication.
Of the "12 apostles," only Rancudo opposed the plan to declare martial law--a fight that he continued until his death on April 14, 1987.
Enrile stayed on as Marcos' defense secretary (later minister) until their breakup in February 1986.
During martial law, Enrile, Cojuangco and Maria Clara Lobregat formed what militant farmers called the triumvirate for the implementation of Marcos' coconut levies.
Enrile is now a member of the administration bloc in the Senate.
Where are they now?
When Marcos fled in 1986 to Hawaii, where he died on Sept. 28, 1989, Cojuangco and family went with him.
In November 1989, Cojuangco ended his self-exile and came back in a private aircraft. Today, he is back as board chair of San Miguel Corp., the country's largest firm, which he once controlled.
He also chairs the central committee of the Nationalist People's Coalition.
Ramos joined Enrile in seizing the AFP headquarters in February 1986 and both were hailed heroes of Edsa 1.
President Corazon Aquino appointed Ramos in 1986 as AFP chief of staff. In 1988, he became defense secretary.
He was responsible for blocking six coup attempts against the Aquino administration.
He served as President in 1992-1998. He is now chair emeritus of the ruling party, Lakas-CMD.
Ver was one of the most feared and powerful men during Marcos' iron rule. He was held responsible by human rights groups for the imprisonment, torture and death of countless dissidents.
He fled to Hawaii along with the Marcoses.
He was charged by the majority members of the Agrava Fact-Finding Board as a principal in the double murder of Ninoy Aquino and Rolando Galman. But in late 1985, the Sandiganbayan acquitted him and other military respondents.
Ver was charged as an accomplice in a new trial ordered by the Supreme Court. But he was not tried in his absence and the case against him has been shelved.
He died on Nov. 21, 1998, in Bangkok.
Gatan, also among those believed involved in the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, has likewise died, along with Espino and Paz.
Members of the "Rolex 12"
- Tomas Diaz, PMA-Cl '51 - Vice Chief of the Philippine Constabulary
- Juan Ponce Enrile - Minister of Defense
- Romeo Espino UP-ROTC - Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
- Romeo Gatan - Chief of the Philippine Constabulary in Rizal Province
- Alfredo Montoya, PMA Cl-'51 -Chief of the Philippine Constabulary Metropolitan Command (METROCOM)
- Ignacio Paz, PMA Cl-'51 - Chief of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP)
- Fidel V. Ramos, USMA Cl-'50; Honorary PMA Cl-51 -Chief of the Philippine Constabulary (PC)
- Jose Rancudo - Chief of the Philippine Air Force (PAF)
- Hilario Ruiz -Chief of the Philippine Navy (PN)
- Rafael Zagala -Chief of the Philippine Army (PA)
- Fabian Ver, Honorary-PMA Cl '51 - Chief of National Intelligence Security Authority (NISA) [1]
- Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, Jr., Honorary PMA Cl-'51 - present Chairman of San Miguel Corporation.
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