Rogelio Roxas later claimed that then-President Ferdinand Marcos orchestrated the raid and was in possession of the treasure.
16 Facts About Rogelio Roxas
1.
2.
Rogelio Roxas was arrested in Cabanatuan by three men in civilian clothing on May 18,1971, and jailed for 2 years.
3.
Rogelio Roxas alleged that he was a treasure hunter who in 1971 was searching for Yamashita's gold.
4.
Sometime in 1970, Rogelio Roxas's group began digging on state lands near the Baguio General Hospital.
5.
Inside, Rogelio Roxas discovered a gold-colored buddha statue, which he estimated to be about three feet in height.
6.
Rogelio Roxas directed his laborers to transport the statue to his home and place it in a closet.
7.
Rogelio Roxas found a large pile of boxes underneath the concrete enclosure, approximately fifty feet from where the buddha statue had been discovered.
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Ferdinand Marcos 8.
Rogelio Roxas returned the next day and opened one small box, which contained twenty-four one-inch by two-and-one-half-inch bars of gold.
9.
Rogelio Roxas estimated that the boxes were, on average, approximately the size of a case of beer and that they were stacked five or six feet high, over an area six feet wide and thirty feet long.
10.
Several weeks later, Rogelio Roxas returned to blast the tunnel closed, planning to sell the buddha statue in order to obtain funds for an operation to remove the remaining treasure.
11.
Rogelio Roxas twice attempted to report his find to Judge Marcos, but was unsuccessful in contacting him.
12.
Rogelio Roxas testified that Kenneth Cheatham, the representative of one prospective buyer, drilled a small hole under the arm of the buddha and assayed the metal.
13.
Rogelio Roxas claimed that after he discovered the treasure, he was arrested by Marcos, the treasure was seized, and he was tortured.
14.
Rogelio Roxas turned over claims to the treasure to a group of American investors, which filed suit in Hawaii.
15.
The statuette in the court's custody was surrendered by police days after Rogelio Roxas complained that his Golden Buddha had been seized by Marcos.
16.
Rogelio Roxas's relatives claimed that the statuette that was returned to his family was a replica.