The Presidential Commission on Good Government on Thursday denied that six high-value paintings sequestered by the government from the Marcos family were missing while many are now deteriorating.
In its report released this week, the Commission on Audit said that six paintings which should be in Malacañang’s antique houses were missing, along with three other Russian paintings of the Marcoses that were kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila.
The CoA also alleged that most of the paintings and artworks in the Metropolitan Museum are deteriorating mainly due to poor facilities, and some paintings have dirt and scratches on the surface due to lack of humidity, temperature and exposure, and the lack of expertise to preserve the artworks.
“PCGG is not remiss in its duty to preserve these paintings since it has consistently reminded the responsible officials of the Museum to conduct regular maintenance of said artworks including provision for storage racks, and consultation with experts on possible restoration to prevent further deterioration and damage to the paintings,” the PCGG said in a statement.
The PCGG likewise said that state auditors which conducted an inventory in 2012 merely relied on a tentative list from the Commission on the basis of documents showing that the paintings were“merely offered to Imelda R. Marcos,” or “may have been connected to the Marcoses but no proof of actual purchase, … nor any verified report showing the paintings referred to in the tentative list were actually delivered to the Malacañang Antique Houses.”
The PCGG likewise cited the same CoA report which said that the paintings are “still in relatively good condition” but susceptible to further damage.
State auditors said the 17 artworks/paintings found in Malacañang’s antique houses are all in good condition while the six paintings, however, reported in the 2012 inventory as “missing” were still have not been located during last year’s inventory.
The PCGG said that they will “request DBM to provide the necessary funds for the proper preservation and maintenance of these paintings, and request the assistance from the appropriate authorities for an effective management and immediate restoration of these artworks.”
The PCGG, however, insisted that the three Russian missing paintings “were in the physical possession, custody, and control of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, and never with PCGG.”
It added that it already requested the management of the Museum on June 29, 2016 to investigate about the three missing paintings, but the latter has not yet submitted any report on the results of its probe, even as state auditors recommended that the PCGG management should “issue Property Acknowledgement Receipt (PAR) for the Metropolitan Museum artworks to establish and determine the persons responsible and accountable.”
In its defense, the PCGG said that the Metropolitan Museum did not comply following their earlier reminder.
“To date, the Museum has not submitted any report to the PCGG on the results of its investigation.”
“On July 7, 2016, immediately after our request for investigation on these missing paintings, we directed the officials of the Museum to provide property tags to the paintings and artworks and to issue anAcknowledgement Receipt for Equipment (ARE) covering the sequestered paintings and artworks under its custody in order to establish the person/s who are responsible and accountable to these sequestered items.”
The PCGG assured that it will ensure that “whoever is responsible for the loss of said three (3) paintings while at the custody of Metropolitan Museum will be made accountable.”
Created by the late President Corazon Aquino in 1986 through EO 1, the PCGG is tasked to recover the ill-gotten wealth of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, his family, relatives and cronies, whether in the Philippines or abroad.