By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD CITY – As police probe two persons of interest behind the theft of an 88-year-old painting by national artist Fernando Amorsolo from a private museum in Silay City, Negros Occidental, the city government is offering a P25,000 cash reward for information leading to the arrest and recovery of the stolen artwork.
Mayor Joedith Gallego announced on Saturday that he is willing to give a reward to expedite the search for the missing painting.
Gallego stated that he has directed the police to thoroughly investigate the incident for the immediate arrest of the suspects and to validate information that would help locate the stolen painting.
City tourism officer Gerle Sulmaca reported that Amorsolo’s “Mango Harvesters” painting was taken from the Hofileña museum in Barangay 1 on Wednesday morning, July 3.
The “Mango Harvesters” painting (1936), measuring about 12×18 inches, is part of the collection of the late Ramon Hofileña, a renowned art curator in the province, dubbed the “Father of Heritage Conservation in Silay City.”
Sulmaca said that a tour guide discovered the painting missing from the second floor of the museum, which is also an ancestral house of the Hofileña family.
“We were shocked and saddened, as this is the first time that this happened,” Sulmaca said.
Sulmaca emphasized the importance of the city’s private museums, which house significant cultural properties. She expressed the city’s protective stance towards these properties, despite their private ownership.
The museum has sought public assistance in locating the stolen painting through a Facebook post shared by Silay Heritage on Friday night, July 5.
“Please help in the recovery of this important piece of Philippine art. Please report to the nearest authorities if you have information,” the Silay Heritage post read.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Mark Anthony Darroca, city police chief, revealed that CCTV footage showed two individuals leaving the museum with the painting concealed in a bag. A man was seen taking the artwork from a display on the second floor, while a woman acted as a lookout.
The suspects were seen riding a pedicab from the museum to the city public plaza, where they boarded a passenger jeepney to Bacolod, as confirmed by CCTV footage.
Darroca indicated that the suspects, part of a group of six during a tour, used fictitious names in the logbook and claimed to be from Bacolod. They were wearing caps and face masks, making identification difficult.
However, Darroca mentioned that they have identified two persons of interest, believed to be part of an organized crime group, given the method of their actions. The police have coordinated with the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) to track down the suspects, linked to petty crimes.
Authorities tracked the pedicab driver through CCTV footage and questioned him about the suspects’ identities. A mugshot of one person of interest matched the description of the male suspect, but the driver could not identify the female suspect.
The police plan to reveal the identity of the male suspect once they file the case.
The Cybercrime group will enhance the CCTV footage for better identification of the suspects, believed to be from outside the province.
Following this incident, Gallego announced plans to intensify security measures in museums and other cultural properties of the city.
Tourist police regularly patrol the city, but additional personnel will now be stationed in museums to assist staff and tour guides.
The mayor considers this an isolated case and hopes for the swift recovery of the stolen artwork.
The museum features works by national artists Juan Luna, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, Amorsolo, Ang Kiukok, Vicente Manansala, H.R. Ocampo, and Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera.
