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FOR a $150-million price tag, Imelda Marcos can buy back the freedom to shop till she drops anywhere in the United States, and satisfy her fetish for expensive shoes, jewelry and bullet-proof bras, according to lawyer Rod Domingo Jr.
The former first lady's personal items in a showroom in Malacaņang hint at just what kind of shopping spree she may go on.
Imelda had 3,000 pairs of size-8 1/2 shoes, one bullet-proof bra, 500 size-38 bras, 200 size-42 girdles, a pair of plastic disco sandals with three-inch flashing battery-operated heels, a collection of X-rated movies from Copenhagen, a diamond-studded hairbrush, and records of Frank Sinatra and the Village People.
Domingo, local counsel for nearly 10,000 victims of abuses, said a provision in the deal with the Marcoses would ''purge the US district court's order of contempt and all fines'' against Ms Marcos and her son, Ilocos Norte Gov. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
He said that included $10 million worth of fines, as well as an arrest warrant ''enforceable all over'' the United States.
Domingo said a pending motion for the arrests of Ms Marcos and Governor Marcos was filed some time ago by class-suit lead counsel Robert Swift. He arrest warrant to ''a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads'' of mother and son.
The two were cited in contempt of court in 1995 by US Judge Manuel Real for their ''gross and patent violation'' of several injunction orders.
The injunctions sought to prohibit the Marcoses from ''transferring, dissipating, secreting or in any way disposing any of the assets of the Marcos estate anywhere in the world,'' Domingo said.
But the Marcoses defied the order when they went ahead and signed a 75-25 compromise deal with then Presidential Commission on Good Government Chair Magtanggol Gunigundo, according to Domingo.
The sharing agreement, which was voided last year by the Supreme Court, called for the splitting of the Marcos loot stashed away in Swiss banks.
The amount, now in escrow, has grown to $590 million and will be the source of the $150-million settlement for the victims.
Domingo said the 75-25 deal prompted Swift to file the motion. Real slapped the Marcoses with a fine of $100,000 for each day that they refused to appear in court to explain the compromise agreement.
The fines have reached an estimated $10 million for the 100 times they failed to answer court summons, he said.
''All of these contempt charges and fines would be recalled upon the final approval'' of the $150-million settlement, Domingo said.
By Christine Herrera
Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 28, 1999 | 
