After more than 60 years, the Angono municipal government now has in its care two pieces of the wooden murals that form part of a 12‑piece masterpiece by National Artist for Painting Carlos "Botong" Francisco, which were sculpted between 1962 and 1964.

During the inauguration of the local government's new tourism office on Saturday, Aug. 22, Mayor Gerardo Calderon led local officials in unveiling two pieces of Francisco's wooden artwork, which will be housed at the facility.

Calderon said the pieces, which were carved from acacia wood, were donated by Mrs. Victoria Pineda and her family.

In an interview with the Manila Bulletin, Carlos “Totong” Francisco II, grandson of “Botong,” said the two murals are part of a 12-piece work created by his grandfather together with some 50 woodcarvers from Paete, Laguna, between 1962 and 1964.

Totong said the murals were based on Botong’s painting titled “The Filipino Struggles Through History,” parts of which are now displayed at Manila City Hall and the National Museum.

The mayor said the municipal government is grateful to Pineda and her family for donating the two murals, which he considers a “treasure.”

The mayor said the pieces were first exhibited at the Philippine Pavilion during the New York World’s Fair in 1964 and 1965.

The entire sculpture depicts the country’s history and mythology, from the “Legend of Malakas and Maganda,” a Filipino mythology about the first man and woman emerging from a split giant bamboo pole, to Spanish colonization, the establishment of the Philippine Republic, and the end of World War II.

Calderon said the local government hopes the remaining pieces of the sculpture will eventually be brought to Angono to complete Botong’s 12-piece work of art.

Botong, who was from Angono, Rizal, was posthumously named National Artist for Painting in 1973.