Stolen Amorsolo Recovered, To Return To Silay Museum

(SPOT.ph) Fernando Amorsolo’s “Mango Harvesters” is coming home.

About a week after the prized painting was reported missing, authorities retrieved the painting in an operation in Quezon City, saving it from an illegal sale. Two men linked to the theft were arrested and now face prosecution.

Operatives from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) were behind the successful recovery of the 1936 artwork by the late National Artist Amorsolo, turning it over to the National Museum on Friday. The museum said the painting would soon be returned to its home museum in Silay City, Negros Occidental.  

“We congratulate the NBI for safely retrieving the stolen painting and reaffirm our commitment to assisting our law enforcement agencies in any appropriate way,” the National Museum said in a Facebook post.

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“We look forward to the return of 'Mango Harvesters' to its rightful owners and home at the Hofileña Museum and to the successful prosecution of all persons who were involved in the theft of this valuable piece of the nation’s cultural and artistic heritage,” the museum added.

Also read: Prized Amorsolo Painting Stolen from Silay Museum

The Entrapment

The painting was recovered after the National Bureau of Investigation-Special Task Force (NBI-STF) received a tip that one “Atty. Ching” was offering the painting to possible buyers. Operatives then hatched an entrapment operation on July 11 to meet the sellers at a rendezvous point in Tomas Morato, Quezon City, the NBI said in a statement.

There, they met two men, Ritz China Ching and Donecio Somaylo, who had the stolen Amorsolo painting with them. They were promptly arrested and charged for “possession and selling stolen property,” a violation against the Anti-Fencing Law.

The next day, the painting was turned over to the National Museum of the Philippines, where the museum’s Director General Jeremy Barns confirmed its authenticity.

The story is still unraveling, as details have yet to be revealed on how the painting was stolen.

The 88-year-old artwork was first reported stolen from the Hofileña Museum on July 3, shocking the artworld. The painting is among artworks capturing rural life by Amorsolo, considered the “Grand Old Man of Philippine Art.”