She was famous for her shoes and lavish lifestyle. Now, 23 years after her husband was deposed as leader of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos may soon be reunited with her jewellery. The Philippine government has urged the return of gems worth more than $310m, and including a Burmese ruby said to be as big as a prune.

The justice department yesterday ordered an anti-graft agency to resolve claims dating back two decades on several sets of jewellery allegedly belonging to Mrs Marcos and return them to her family if warranted.

Raul Gonzalez, justice secretary, said the Presidential Commission on Good Government, a state agency which aims to recover about $10bn of the allegedly ill-gotten wealth of Ferdinand Marcos, the late dictator, and his family, did not issue a sequestration order when it seized the jewellery in 1986.