Rogelio Roxas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rogelio Roxas | |
 |
|
| Died | May 25, 1993 |
|---|---|
| Other names | Roger Roxas |
| Occupation | Soldier, Locksmith |
Rogelio "Roger" Domingo Roxas (died May 25, 1993) was a former Filipino soldier who had worked as a locksmith before allegedly discovering a hidden cache of gold bars and a giant golden Buddha statue — which Roxas estimated to weigh one metric ton — on a plot of state-owned land near Baguio General Hospital, in Baguio City on January 24, 1971.[1] Roxas claimed that the Buddha's head was removable and that it concealed a hollowed-out portion within the statue that contained at least two handfuls of uncut diamonds. The cache was alleged to be a portion of the legendary Yamashita treasure.
Contents |
[edit] Seizure of gold
On April 5, 1971, Roxas claimed that armed men purportedly from the National Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Investigation Service forcibly confiscated the gold bars and statue from his home in Aurora Hills, Baguio City.[1][2][3] On April 19, 1971, the military deposited a Buddha statue at the Baguio City Court; however, Roxas proclaimed that it was not the same statue taken from him. Roxas later claimed that then-President Ferdinand Marcos orchestrated the raid and was in possession of the treasure. Roxas was arrested in Cabanatuan City by three men in civilian clothing on May 18, 1971 and jailed for several years.[2]
[edit] Post-1986 EDSA revolution
As a consequence of the 1986 EDSA Revolution, Marcos was removed from power and he and his family relocated to Hawaii. On June 3, 1986, Roxas, with help from his son Henry and brother Danilo and their foreign partners, established the Golden Budha[sic] Corporation. Roxas assigned all of his rights over the treasure to GBC, which a friend, Felix Dacanay, had incorporated in Georgia.[1] Roxas died on May 25, 1993 from apparent poisoning as he prepared to leave for a court appearance in Hawaii. In 1996 a Hawaiian court awarded the Golden Budha[sic] Corporation $22 billion in damages to be collected from the Marcos estate for the stolen Yamashita treasure.[4] The Hawaii Supreme Court overturned the damages in 1998.[5]
Roxas's eldest son Jose petitioned the Baguio court in 1995 to release the statue to him as a memento of his father's treasure-hunting days. Jose also declared in court that his father never found a golden Buddha.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c Roxas v. Marcos. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
- ^ a b Timeline Philippines. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
- ^ a b Dacanay, Barbara Mae. Marcos family still hounded by hunter of golden Buddha. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
- ^ Timelines: Philippines. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
- ^ "The golden Buddha", Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 1998-11-19. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
