‘Walang ginto’: Bongbong Marcos seeks closure on Tallano gold myth

FILE Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential aspirant and former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Saturday denied a long-running legend fueled by some of his supporters that the Marcos family owned gold which they intended to distribute to the people who will vote for him in the May elections.

“Walang ginto. Walang ginto,” Marcos Jr. said in a DZBB interview for presidential contenders, when asked if it is true that the Marcos family owns tons of gold and that they will distribute it to those who will vote for him.

(There is no gold. There is no gold.)

In 2011, a Facebook post claimed that a certain Tallano clan had paid the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in gold for his legal services. Several years later, supporters of the Marcos family in a Facebook page called “Marcos Cyber Warriors” also claimed that Marcos Sr.’s wealth came from his former law client, the “Maharlikan Tallano family.”

The urban myth had allegedly been suggested or carried by various social media pages being run by Marcos supporters in order to engage more people to support his presidential bid.

Meanwhile, a 1992 report by the Associated Press quoted former first lady Imelda Marcos as saying that her husband’s wealth came from the Japanese and other gold he found after World War II, and not from the Philippine coffers.

But in an interview with One News PH last month, Marcos Jr. said that he has not seen any of the Yamashita and Tallano gold that his family supposedly owns.

He even joked that people should let him know if they see any of that gold.

“Baka may alam sila, sabihan ako, kailangan ko yung gold. Wala pa akong nakikitang gold (Maybe they know something, they should tell me. I need the gold. I haven’t seen any gold),” he said.