Pledges $5 Million in Bonds to Help Her Friend : Doris Duke to Post Imelda Marcos’ Bail

Tobacco heiress Doris Duke pledged Wednesday to post bail of $5 million for her friend Imelda Marcos so that the former first lady of the Philippines can return to Hawaii and her ailing husband, deposed President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Imelda Marcos, 59, and her husband, 71, are charged with looting the Philippine treasury of hundreds of millions of dollars and putting the money into Manhattan real estate. The former president was examined by a government physician Monday to determine whether he is well enough to be arraigned in New York.

Donald Robinson, a lawyer for Duke, appeared in court Wednesday and told U.S. District Court Judge John Keenan that the bail bond had been arranged.

‘Happy to Help Her Friend’

He said his client “is happy to help her friend, Mrs. Marcos, and this court. I think she can work it out today.”

“Once the bail is set,” Keenan said, “just inform the court, and I will permit Mrs. Marcos to leave the Southern District and return to Hawaii.”

He said it would not be necessary for her to appear in court again in connection with bail.

Keenan said the doctor who examined the former president is back in New York and preparing his report. Lawyers for Marcos contend that he has a serious heart ailment and should be arraigned in Hawaii. They said Wednesday that even if the government physician finds that he is fit enough to fly, they will ask that he be examined by an independent doctor before a decision is made about where the court appearance is to take place.

Visible Assets Tied Up

On Monday, after Imelda Marcos entered a plea of not guilty to racketeering charges, questions arose about how her bail could be posted. The Marcoses’ visible assets in the United States and Switzerland have been tied up in litigation by the Philippine government. But she apparently had little difficulty.

Robinson said Duke will put up $5.2 million in municipal bonds, to be deposited in the Chemical Bank. The additional $200,000 is to cover any fluctuation in the bonds’ value.

“Miss Duke is doing all she can to help the Marcos family,” Robinson said. “They are long, close friends. It was Miss Duke’s idea to help her friends. It is a close personal friendship. They talk frequently. There is no risk at all for Miss Duke. She is happy to help a friend.”

Robinson said that Imelda Marcos was “eternally grateful and was tearful” when she heard that the bail had been arranged.

Her advisers said her $1,800-a-day hotel bill will be paid by friends. She arrived here Sunday with an entourage of more than 20 aboard a Duke private jet.

Judge Keenan granted the former first lady permission to travel to New Jersey and to Newport, R.I., to visit residences owned by Duke. Once the bail papers are formally executed, she will be free to return to Hawaii or to travel anywhere in the United States, but must check in several times a week with the government.

The Marcoses were indicted Oct. 21, along with five other individuals and the Los Angeles-based California Overseas Bank, for allegedly using bribes, kickbacks, secret bank accounts and false documents to mislead investigators and defraud financial institutions. The co-defendants, including Saudi Arabian financier Adnan Khashoggi, are all abroad and have not been arraigned.

Prosecutors accused the Marcoses of transferring $103 million in stolen funds to the United States in order to buy four Manhattan buildings and of defrauding two U.S. banks of $165 million to refinance the properties.