Sandigan going after 9 paintings in Imelda’s Batasan office

MANILA, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan is determined to recover nine prized paintings still in the possession of Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos.

The paintings, found in the office of Marcos at the House of Representatives, were among 24 artworks covered by a writ of attachment issued by the anti-graft court on Sept. 29.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) had seized 15 of the paintings from her family’s San Juan City residence.

Sandiganbayan sheriffs and agents of the National Bureau of Investigation, along with representatives of the PCGG and Office of the Solicitor General, failed to confiscate the artworks in Imelda’s office due to lack of clearance from the Office of the Speaker.

Romulo Barrozo, sheriff of the House of Representatives, placed the nine paintings under custodia legis by signing the back of each artwork and serving a duplicate copy of the writ of attachment on Mrs. Marcos’ chief-of-staff Filadelfo Diaz to prevent the same from being moved without court approval.

The nine paintings found in Marcos’ office are Michelangelo Buonarotti’s Madonna and Child; Vase of Red Chrysanthemums by Bernard Buffet; Still Life with Idol by Paul Gaugin; L’ Aube by Joan Miro; Femme Cauchee VI by Pablo Picasso; Jardin de Kew Prés de la Serre, 1892 by Camille Pissarro; La Baignade au Grand Lemps by Pierre Bonnard; Picnic (Grandma Moses) 1959 by Anne Mary Robertson; and Moon Madness 1982 by Andrew Wyeth.

The artworks now under the custody of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas include three Madonna and Child paintings; a Femme Au Chapeu (Woman in Hat); five Vase De Fleurs (Vase of Flowers), the Paysage; a Jeune Femme En Rouge; a Coupe De Fleurs, a Panier De Fruits and a Jeune Femme Shabilant “Chavalet,” all by Paule Gobillard, and a Picasso Replica Bass Strokes painting.