Manila dad wants ‘missing’ mural probed

MANILA, Philippines - A Manila councilor is calling for an investigation into a mural painted by National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco that is “missing” from the city hall.

Ali Atienza, in filing a resolution Tuesday, said he found “no paper trail” telling him the mural’s current location. He noticed it was missing when Mayor Joseph Estrada was sworn into office last June 30. The mural was replaced by a copy painted on tarpaulin.

“You can’t take anything out of the city hall without the necessary clearance. I’d like to know what really happened to the mural, we might have a Thomas Crown Affair on our hands,” Atienza said, referring to a movie in which actor Pierce Brosnan portrays a thief who steals priceless works of art.

The National Museum, however, said in its Facebook page that the mural is undergoing restoration.

The museum “does quite a lot of behind-the-scenes work, including archival research, surveys, field work, planning and conservation,” the museum’s post read as it shared a newspaper report on the restoration process.

The 10-panel mural, titled “Struggle of Filipinos through History,” used to be at the Bulwagang Gat Antonio Villegas, which is just outside the mayor’s office. It was commissioned by the late mayor Antonio Villegas in 1963.

Atienza said he checked with several local government offices, including the tourism and general services office to check what happened to the mural.

“Nobody could give me any document or explanation where it went,” Atienza said.

It was reported in 2012 that the mural will be restored after water seeped through a portion of the artwork due to the city hall’s leaky plumbing.

Then mayor Alfredo Lim and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority were reported to have signed a memorandum of agreement for the turnover of the mural together with a P20-million restoration budget donated by the Department of Tourism.

Last week, it was reported that the painting was with the National Museum and the city government authorized its transfer last February.

Atienza said the P20 million was “overpriced” and that restoration does not mean they have to take the mural out of the building. “That’s a city treasure,” he said.