(UPDATE) A mural by National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco that had reportedly gone missing from Manila City Hall is under restoration at the National Museum according to former Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim.
In a report on ABS-CBN’s Bandila, Lim brought a news crew to the National Museum to show them the painting which is being restored there. He said the mural was brought there for restoration but “people think we replaced it and took it home.”
The Manila Tourism and Cultural Affairs Bureau said on Friday that it does not know why a 49-year-old original mural by National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco is missing after it was reportedly removed from Rizal Hall at the Manila City Hall in June.
According to MTCAB officer-in-charge Flordeliza Villasenor, her office is currently conducting an investigation into why Francisco’s mural entitled “Filipino Struggles Through History” was removed and replaced with “tarpaulin replica” weeks before former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada took his oath of office.
The said priceless mural shows the history, struggles and triumph of Filipino heroes during the Philippine Revolution and the Second World War. The 270 x 487 cm. mural was commissioned by the late Mayor Antonio Villegas in 1963.
Villasenor admitted she was dismayed over the apparent disappearance of Francisco’s masterpiece especially since there is no paper trail on the transfer or removal of the mural.
“I was already summoned by the city council and I explained to them that our office can’t find any traces of paper trail which will give any clue where the mural was brought before Mayor Estrada assumed as the chief of the country’s capital”, Villasenor said.
The elaborate three-panel mural by the late artist from Angono also showcases the history of Manila, from the pre-colonial reign of the rajahs to the American period. It also shows the heroism of Dr. Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and other heroes of the Philippine Revolution.
The mural was conspiciously missing during the oath-taking of Estrada last June 30.
Manila fifth district councilor Arnold “Ali” Atienza criticized the sudden disappearance of the mural and blames the previous administration of former mayor Alfredo Lim.
“How can a huge mural which most of the city hall employees see everyday suddenly disappear without any traces? I think the camp of the former mayor must answer the allegation since it was during his last weeks in his office when the priceless mural was reportedly removed from the Bulwagan”, Atienza said.
Last year, the Lim administration received a 20-million-peso donation from the Department of Tourism following an engineering department report that water had seeped through a portion of the mural. The leak was traced faulty plumbing on the floor above the hall.
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Photo: Detail of Filipino Struggles Through History/ Pinoy-culture.tumblr.com
