SURPRISE: Ferdinand Marcos buried at Libingan ng mga Bayani

MANILA, Philippines - The remains of the former President Ferdinand Marcos were buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani at noon on Friday despite indications from petitioners opposed to it that they would appeal a Supreme Court ruling dismissing their petitions.
 
Rumors of a planned burial spread on social media Friday morning, shortly before the burial was confirmed by Chief Superintendent Oscar Albayalde, NCRPO chief. Albayalde was later seen with Philippine National Police Director General Ronald Dela Rosa at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

The officials said that there are around 2,000 police and military personnel to provide security for the burial.

The burial was planned secretly to avoid protests. The Supreme Court dismissed the petitions asking for it to be blocked. Marcos was buried in area at LNMB reserved for former presidents.

Bato: @RRD_Davao knows about hero's burial ceremony for Marcos https://t.co/o5VNwhZqWl #MarcosBurial pic.twitter.com/HEpgt8Ramc

— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) November 18, 2016

.@pnppio chief Bato Dela Rosa is here along with NCRPO head Albayalde | via @jaebolando #MarcosBurial pic.twitter.com/vIlihWaTlD

— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) November 18, 2016

SOCE Names Biggest Spender in Election 2016

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte campaign expendetures is at P371.46 million, 4 million less the total campaign contributions he received, according to his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE).

Duterte’s biggest contributors were Antonio Floirendo Jr., P75 million; Dennis Uy, P30 million; Samuel Uy, P30 million; and Lorenzo Te, P30 million, all from Davao City; and Bienvenido Tan of Makati City, P20 million.

Vice President-elect Leni Robredo spent a total of P418,664,130.60 for her vice presidential campaign. She received a total of P423,163,737.34 in contributions. Of this amount, P17,057,487.15 of the donations were in kind.

This is based on the Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec):

Vice President Jejomar Binay’s SOCE got a total of P463,453,000 cash contributions, and had a total expeditures of P463,375,216.37.

Senator Gregorio Honasan cash contribution is P25,790,000 and P173,450 in-kind. He spent P26,259,889.20 with P296,449.20 coming from his personal funds.

Outgoing Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago declared having received and spent an equal amount of P74,652,689.87, all are donated in-kind from her party, People’s Reform Party (PRP).

Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., expenditures is at P140,539,366.34, he got a total of P123,640,000.00 in cash contributions and P7,067,735.00 in kind donations. He also paid out a total of P9,831,760.42 in personal funds.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV based on his SOCE got P61,159,497.87, with P61,000,000 and P159,497.87, in cash and in kind contributions. His total expenditures totalled to P61,896,067.36 including P736,569.49 from personal funds.

Allan Peter Cayetano, it said he received contributions amounting to P188,930,000.00 and spent P189,129,872.48.

Presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe revealed she received a total of P511,950,000.00 in cash contributions and had total expenditures amounting to P510,845,262.56.

Poe’s partner in the May 2016 polls, Senator Francis Joseph Escudero, got a total of P322,100,000.00 in cash and P467,073.60 in kind donations amounting to P322,567,073.60. He spent of P321,014,827.64.

Presidential Race Top Spender:
1. Grace Poe - P510,845,262.56
2. Jejomar Binay - P463,453,000
3. Rodrigo Duterte - P371.46 million
4. Miriam Defensor-Santiago - P74,652,689.87
5. Manuel Roxas II - failed to submit his SOCE

Vice-Presidential Race Top Spender:
1. Leni Robredo - P418,664,130.60
2. Francis Joseph Escudero - P321,014,827.64
3. Allan Peter Cayetano  - P189,129,872.48
4. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr - P140,539,366.34
5. Antonio Trillanes IV - P61,896,067.36
6. Gregorio Honasan - P26,259,889.20

Liberal Party’s standard-bearer, Manuel Roxas II, failed to submit his SOCE.

The top 5 spenders in the senatorial race were:

1. Francis Tolentino at P199,146,623.72
2. Joel Villanueva P163,787,074.02
3. Sherwin Gatchalian, P157,077,338.62
4. Ralph Recto, P131,867,403.89
5. Isko Domagoso, P120,197,670.90.

Source

Duterte Plan To Give Marcos A Hero’s Burial

Presumptive president-elect Rodrigo Duterte wants to  give late dictator Ferdinand Marcos a hero’s burial. Duterte who won the 2016 presidential election by a landslide vote, said on Monday that he would allow Marcos to be buried at the Heroes’ Cemetery in Manila, in what would be another big win for the dictator’s family as it cements a remarkable political comeback.

Duterte said “I will allow the burial of President Marcos sa Libingan ng mga Bayani not because he is a hero but because he was a Filipino soldier, period.”

“Yang issue sa burial ni President Ferdinand Marcos sa Libingan ng mga Bayani has created division among our people… I am sure that I will erase among our people one hatred,” he added.

Since he was campaigning for the presidency, Duterte has expressed his approval to bury Marcos in the said burial grounds.

Stolen art sale gets Imelda Marcos ex-aide six years in New York prison

NEW YORK - A former aide of Imelda Marcos was sentenced on Monday to up to 6 years in a New York prison for a scheme to sell art that once belonged to the former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos that includes a Claude Monet water-lily painting that is worth $32 million.

Claude Monet Water Lilies painting

Vilma Bautista, 75, was convicted last November for conspiracy and tax fraud charges related to the sale or attempted sale of four museum-quality paintings acquired by Marcos during the two decades that her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, was president of the Philippines.

The art disappeared around 1986, when Marcos was ousted from power. He died three years later.

The judge sentenced Bautista to between 2 and 6 years in prison for the count of tax fraud and between one and three years for the conspiracy charge.

Bautista, who had faced up to 25 years in prison, was also ordered to pay $3.5 million in restitution to the state of New York. Bautista was charged in the state because she lives in New York City.

Prosecutors said Bautista secretly held on to the artwork for more than two decades until 2010, when she sold Monet's "Le Bassin aux Nympheas," part of his famed series of water-lily paintings, to a London gallery for $32 million.

"Le Bassin aux Nympheas" - Claude Monet

  
She was also accused of secretly keeping and attempting to sell Monet's "L'Eglise et La Seine a Vetheuil," Alfred Sisley's "Langland Bay" and Albert Marquet's "Le Cypres de Djenan Sidi Said," with help from her two nephews.

"L'Eglise et La Seine a Vetheuil" - Claude Monet

"Langland Bay"- Alfred Sisley

 

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Albert Marquet's Le Cypres de Djenan Sidi Said (1946)

During her month-long trial last year, prosecutors said Bautista knew the art was stolen from a Manhattan townhouse that was once used by Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos. They argued she hid the multimillion-dollar pieces until she tried to sell them for personal gain, keeping the money tax-free.

Bautista's lawyers argued that she had been given permission to sell the artwork and had intended to return the money to the Philippine government, but it was seized by the Manhattan district attorney's office before she could do so.

One of Bautista's attorneys on Monday told Reuters Television that she planned to appeal the conviction.

"We will be filing an appeal, and the appeal is going to be somewhat expedited and we're hoping that the appellate division agrees with us," attorney Fran Hoffinger said.

Bautista was released on $275,000 bail pending her appeal.

Bautista was a member of the Philippine foreign service and was a close confidante to the former Philippine first lady, serving as her unofficial New York-based personal secretary while assigned to the Philippine mission to the United Nations from the early 1970s through 1986, prosecutors said.

During her husband's rule, Imelda Marcos amassed art, jewelry and other valuables using state assets. The Philippine government is still trying to recover many of the items.

After Bautista's trial, the Philippine government said in a statement it welcomed her conviction and said it would try to recover the art.

The Philippine government charged Imelda Marcos and her husband with corruption in 1987, seeking billions in U.S. dollars in damages for plundering the Asian nation's wealth.

(Additional reporting by Sharon Reich; Editing by Scott Malone, Amanda Kwan and Leslie Adler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stolen-art-sale-gets-imelda-marcos-ex-aide-175843914.html