By GLAZYL MASCULINO
BACOLOD CITY – The National Bureau of Investigation has recovered the Mango Harvesters painting by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo in Manila, eight days after it was stolen from a private museum in Silay City, Negros Occidental on July 3.
Police Lt. Col. Mark Anthony Darroca, Silay police chief, flew to Manila on Friday, July 12, after he learned that the 1936 masterpiece was recovered on Thursday night, July 11.
THE Mango Harvesters painting by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo was recovered by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Manila on Thursday, July 11, after it was stolen from the Hofileña Museum in Silay City, Negros Occidental on July 3. (Photo courtesy of National Museum of the Philippines Facebook)
Darroca said that the NBI launched an entrapment operation leading to the arrest of a man and a woman. He, however, could not disclose other details, pending his meeting with the NBI in Manila.
The Amorsolo oil painting valued at P50 million was stolen by two persons who posed as tourists from the second floor of the Hofileña Museum that is also the ancestral house of the family.
Police identified one of the suspects through the help of a pedicab driver who transported them to the Silay Public Plaza.
Darroca said that the two suspects arrested in Manila are different from the two persons seen in a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera stealing the artwork.
He said that it is possible that these suspects may be part of a group.
Silay Mayor Joedith Gallego offered P25,000 reward to anyone who could provide information that would lead to the recovery of the stolen painting and arrest of the perpetrators.
In a Facebook post, the National Museum of the Philippines said that Director-General Jeremy Barns personally inspected the painting turned over by the NBI for assessment.
After thoroughly checking the artwork, the museum assured the NBI that the painting is indeed the stolen masterpiece. Barns issued a certification attesting the finding upon the request of the NBI.
The museum is looking forward to the return of Mango Harvesters to its rightful owners and home at the Hofileña Museum and the successful prosecution of all persons who were involved in the theft of this valuable piece of the nation’s cultural and artistic heritage.
The museum lauded the NBI for safely retrieving the stolen painting and reaffirmed their commitment to assisting the law enforcement agencies in any appropriate way.