Treasure Skeptics

"By 1943, the Japanese were no longer in control of the seas... It doesn't make sense to bring in something that valuable here when you know it's going to be lost to the Americans anyway," said University of the Philippines professor Rico Jose.

Ambeth Ocampo, chairman and historian of the Philippines National Historical Institute, stated, "Two of the wealth myths I usually encounter are the Yamashita treasure and gossip that the Cojuangco fortune was founded on a bag of money..." Ocampo also stated, "For the past 50 years many people, both Filipinos and foreigners, have spent their time, money, and energy in search of Yamashita's elusive treasure."

The Mines & Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Natural Resources is currently the government agency in charge of issuing treasure permits.