Philippines Puts Hold on Imelda’s Shoes
Former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos may have to wait awhile before she can retrieve the more than 1,000 pairs of shoes she left behind when she and her husband fled a 1986 popular revolt.
Tax Commissioner Jose Ong ordered the presidential palace Thursday to keep the shoes and scores of Marcos’ designer outfits.
The clothing and footwear, including a battery-operated pair that light up for disco dancing, are to be held as security against the $205 million in income and estate taxes Marcos allegedly owes the government.
The palace has put the shoes and clothes on display as symbols of the excesses of the Marcos years.
Imelda Marcos, who returned Nov. 4 from nearly six years’ exile in the United States to face fraud and corruption charges, says she plans to auction the shoes and use the proceeds to help victims of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
