GSIS officials puzzled over ‘Parisian Life’ flap

Top officials of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) expressed puzzlement over a recent report by Commission on Audit (COA) legal officer Rogelio Tablang disallowing the purchase of the Juan Luna masterpiece "Parisian Life."

Tablang’s report runs counter to the decision of GSIS’ resident COA auditor, who upheld the acquisition and considered it an investment, citing the GSIS charter and Supreme Court decisions.

Also disallowed under Tablang’s report was the acquisition of two paintings by Fernando Amorsolo — "Under the Mango Tree" and "Ricefield" — for being prejudicial to the system.

The COA decision comes nearly two years after "Parisian Life" was purchased by GSIS during a public auction at Christie’s in Hong Kong.

The GSIS officials were also surprised by the stance of the COA legal officer that the purchase of the Luna opus "is morally objectionable," when other government institutions — including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Development Bank of the Philippines, Social Security System and the National Power Corp. — were allowed to make purchases for their own art collections.

According to GSIS executive vice president for finance Omelita Tiangco, the investment in these masterpieces satisfies the agency’s requirements for liquidity, safety and security and yield.

Prior to Tablan’s report, GSIS had accumulated over 300 pieces of art and paintings for its museum. "It is our experience that our art investments of more than 300 paintings have outperformed other investments in our portfolio," Tiangco said.

"Parisian Life," purchased for $800,000, is now considered a national treasure and has long been considered by art critics to be a crucial thread in the history of Philippine art.

The value of the painting, she added, "has increased considerably," saying "there is more to the COA disallowance than meets the eye."