• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Police investigators are pursuing leads to locate the perpetrators in the looting of the 88-year old painting of National Artist Fernando Amorsolo from a museum in Silay City, Negros Occidental last week.
The 1936 painting called “Mango Harvesters” is owned by the Hofileña family and is reported to have a value of millions of pesos.
In a Facebook post, the Silay Heritage issued an appeal for help in the recovery of the prized collections of the Hofileña Museum.
PLt. Col. Mark Anthony Darroca, Silay City police chief, said that they have two persons of interest, who were seen on a closed circuit television (CCTV) footage stealing the Amorsolo painting from the second floor of the museum.
Mayor Joedith Gallego said that the city government is offering P25,000 cash reward to anyone who can provide information that would lead to the arrest of the perpetrators and the recovery of the stolen painting.
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said it is not best to talk about the investigation publicly.
Initial investigation further showed that the two suspects joined a group of six guests during a 15-minute tour of the museum on July 3.
The suspects also logged fictitious names in the guest logbook.
Only one tour guide was on duty when the incident took place.
The names of the guests were already submitted to the police for further investigation.
The stolen painting, with a measurement of 12 x 18 inches, was among the collection of the late Ramon Hofileña, a famous art curator in Negros Occidental.
Darroca said he is also coordinating with the Bacolod City Police Office to track down the suspects.
Gallego said he will augment the security of the museum with city hall employees to prevent occurrence of similar incident.
The Hofileña museum also contains a collection of paintings and sketches by national artists Juan Luna, Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo, Fernando Amorsolo, Ang Kiukok, Vicente Manansala, H.R. Ocampo, and BenCab.
Those who may have information about the missing Amorsolo painting may call the Silay City Police Station at 09985987443 or 09989674432. | GB
