Fact check: Did the Aquinos take the ‘gold bars and jewelries’ of the Marcoses?
- Two websites were claiming that former Pres. Noynoy Aquino and other officials transferred the gold bars of the Marcoses to a company in Thailand
- They also said the Aquino was facing a plunder and graft charges
- However, the details about these claims were verified
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There were two websites which claimed that the Aquino family took the “gold bars” of Marcos family as well as the jewelries of former first lady Imelda Marcos.
KAMI learned that the websites said that former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, Mar Roxas, Senators Leila de Lima, and Franklin Drilon were facing plunder and graft charges for allegedly depositing the gold bars of the Marcoses to a company in Thailand.
According to site’s headline, “Ito na! Isiniwalat sa Publiko ang Gold Bars ng mga Marcos na deniposito nina Ex-Pnoy, De Lima, Mar at Drilon sa bansang Thailand.”
Source: Facebook
In their report was a video of a certain director general named Galma Arcilla who is part of a group calling itself as the Transnational-Anti Organized Crime Intelligence Group (TAOC-IG). Arcilla said that they have the authentic documents that can support their claim regarding the $141 billion worth of gold shipped going to Thailand.
A certain lawyer named Fernando Perito and CPA Rogelio Cantoria filed complaint to the said officials. They said that the based the complaint on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) “Circular No. 49” that was issued in December 2014.
Another website claimed that former President Corazon Aquino created the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) to allegedly transfer the wealth of the Marcoses to her own family.
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However, the aforementioned claims were debunked by Rappler and Manila Bulletin.
According to the report of Rappler, they have received an email from the PCGG saying that there were no gold bars retrieved from the Marcoses.
“There were no gold bars recovered from the Marcos loot nor annexed in cases filed,” it stated.
In a report by Manila Bulletin, the BSP did not issue any “Circular No. 49” in December 2014. The BSP also said they, "never issued such types of document because it does not accept gold bullion deposits for safekeeping.”
According to a report by GMA News, the claims came from a fake news site as stated by Aquino’s spokesperson Abigail Valte.
“How does one answer a complaint so patently absurd on its face? It defies logic, which is not surprising since it came from a fake news site,” Valte said.
“The blatant disregard for simple facts is telling of the provenance of the allegations. Sana ay hindi na piliting pasagutin pa ang dating pangulo, dahil napaalala sa amin ang kasabihang ito sa Tagalog: ang pumatol sa baliw, mas baliw,” she added.
President Noynoy Aquino was the country's chief executive back in 2010 to 2016. He is the son of former President Corazon Aquino who served as an opposition to then President Ferdinand Marcos.
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