Imelda Marcos and a golden Buddha may
appear in court for this case.
Associated Press

But less than three months later, the government of then President Ferdinand Marcos raided Roxas' home and took the statue, weighing one metric ton and carrying diamonds in its belly, said Daniel Cathcart, a Los Angeles attorney trying to recover the treasure's value for the Roxas family from the Marcos estate.

Cathcart, who offered opening statements yesterday in the case in which Marcos' widow, Imelda, and a golden Buddha statue may appear, said he was seeking billions of dollars for the treasure and compensation for Roxas' suffering while imprisoned by Marcos.

Roxas, who was jailed in 1971 for about 21/2 years, was found dead in the Philippines in 1993 shortly before a trial in his case was to begin. He was 49.

But James Linn, an Oklahoma attorney representing the Marcos estate, said a solid gold Buddha never existed and the treasure tale was virtually made up, "like 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.'"

He said a Philippine court ruled that a bronze Buddha statue in the court's possession was the same as the one taken during the 1971 raid.

Linn also said that anti-Marcos senators bailed Roxas out of jail and used his cause as a political tool against Marcos.

He said Roxas became a celebrity and traveled with up to six bodyguards and the press.

He also challenged why Roxas' family chose to try its case in the United States, saying it was filed after Marcos was out of power.

"(He) filed in New York, Los Angeles and Hawaii," Linn said. "I guess to let the American taxpayer pay for the trial."

Roxas' suit was brought by the Golden Buddha Corp. in Atlanta. It was formed by Felix Dacanay, a Roxas family friend, in conjunction with Jose Roxas, Roger's older brother.

Dacanay, the first witness to testify, choked up as he described how Roger Roxas experienced poverty as a child, adding: "Many times he would go to bed hungry. Many times he was sick, but couldn't go to the doctor."

Dacanay said under cross-examination that he would receive 25 percent of the money recovered from the suit.

He also said that Roxas experienced "torture and imprisonment and he was hunted like an animal" when he tried to recover his treasure from the government.

Dacanay said he filed the suit in 1987 in Hawaii because the Marcoses had recently fled to the state. He also said he filed in Los Angeles and New York, where the Marcoses had assets.

Cathcart said Roxas acted on a tip from an aide to Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita and a Japanese friend when he began hunting for treasure behind a hospital in Baguio City, about 150 miles north of Manila.

Armed with a metal detector, he burrowed into a tunnel that led to the 3-foot Buddha and thousands of boxes of gold bullion from 29 Asian countries from World War II, Cathcart said.

Using small logs, he rolled the statue out of the tunnel to his home. He then dynamited the tunnel the same day to seal it and planned to return for the bullion, Cathcart said.

But Marcos sent his palace forces to raid Roxas' home and later sent forces to the Baguio City tunnels to recover the gold.

Linn said Roxas was the only one who saw the thousands of boxes of stacked gold in the tunnel, but never opened them.

He also said Roxas was jailed for possessing an illegal weapon following a trial and never showed any scars from his time in prison.

Linn said Jose Roxas, who was present during the 1971 raid on the Roxas house, said in a deposition that the bronze Buddha statue was the one his brother found.

Cathcart said Jose Roxas was coached and that he accepted money for his statements after meeting with Imelda Marcos.

He also said that while Jose Roxas lied in court, the truth was tattooed on his back.

The real Buddha, wrapped with rope, was on his left shoulder while the fake Buddha without the rope was on the right.

The trial, before Circuit Judge Marie Milks, is expected to last two weeks.